Friday, April 8, 2011

Google (GOOG), Justice Close to Settlement Over ITA Acquisition

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and the Justice Department are close to reaching a settlement over the ITA Software acquisition, according to people familiar with the situation, as an agreement will keep the matter from a court challenge.

At this time the proposed agreement isn't finalized, but if it eventually reaches that stage, there will evidently be some antitrust monitoring of Google's operations by the government.

Under terms being discussed, Google would continue to provide services from ITA to its competitors under "fair and reasonable terms."

Of course it's the details of how that is defined that will determine the outcome of a settlement. If there is too much interference, Google could just walk away from the acquisition or battle it out in court.

Among competitors opposing the acquisition are Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE).

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