• by Masha Geller , September 3, 2003

Yahoo! Inc. on Wednesday announced that it has received anti-trust approval from the U.S. Department of Justice to acquire Overture Services Inc.

According to the announcement, the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 has expired.

Yahoo would acquire the Web portals AltaVista and AlltheWeb under the deal.

The approval satisfies one of the conditions of the acquisition, bringing Yahoo, based in Sunnyvale, California, another step closer to completing the $1.63 billion deal, which remains subject to stockholder approval.

Overture announced yesterday that it will hold a special meeting of stockholders on October 7 to vote on the transaction. Yahoo shareholders do not vote.