Six months after Google signed a definitive agreement to acquire AdMob for $750 million, the Federal Trade Commission has finally given the OK for the deal to go through. Interestingly enough, the Mountain Valley, CA giant has rival Apple to somewhat thank for it because of the latter’s entry into the mobile ad market.
After finally concluding that the Google-AdMob transaction was “not likely to harm competition,” the FTC explains that its concerns ultimately were overshadowed by recent developments in the market, most notably Apple’s move to launch its own, competing mobile ad network. In a statement, the Commission says, “As a result of Apple’s entry (into the market), AdMob’s success to date on the iPhone platform is unlikely to be an accurate predictor of AdMob’s competitive significance going forward, whether AdMob is owned by Google or not.”
The FTC voted 5-0 to close its investigation as of today though it says it “will continue to monitor the mobile marketplace to ensure a competitive environment and to protect the interests of consumers.”
via San Francisco Chronicle
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