Online travel services like Travelocity and Expedia can breathe a little easier today upon reports that the U.S. Justice Department is preparing for a antitrust lawsuit to block Google's $700 million
acquisition of ITA Software. Still, "Department officials haven't made a final decision about whether to sue to block the purchase by Google," reports
Bloomberg, citing sources.
This past summer, Google announced plans to
acquire ITA -- which provides online airline flight and ticket information -- soon after which government lawyers said they were extending their ITA investigation. Experts say further involvement by
the Justice Department will make it nearly impossible for Google to finalize the acquisition. "As a business matter, it can be very difficult" to manage an acquisition if there is a probe, Andrew
Gavil, a law professor at Howard University, tells Bloomberg. To curb the deal, Microsoft, Expedia and Sabre Holdings' Travelocity recently helped form FairSearch.org to highlight concerns that Google
would prevent others from using ITA's technology.
Read the whole story at Bloomberg Businessweek »