Tuesday, March 11, 2008

EU green lights Google - Doubleclick acquisition

CNNMoney is reporting that the European Union (EU) has approved Google's acquisition of Doubleclick. US anti-trust regulators had already approved the deal in December.

Although, the positive ruling was widely expected, it is now a virtual certainty that acquisition of DoubleClick by Google will be a 'done deal' as soon as any remaining 'pieces' are in place (IE: 'subject to shareholder approval', etc.).

In other news for market watchers, the Fed this morning announced an unprecedented plan to inject 200 Billion (US dollars) into the ailing US mortgage market, sending stocks rocketing upwards as of 10:30 AM EST.

One analyst characterized the move as "The most significant step the Fed has taken to alleviate the crisis". Other market pundits were much more reserved in their optimism.

UPDATE: Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt has posted the Doubleclick acquisition announcement to the Official Google blog here with additional details.