• The Wall Street Journal, Friday, April 8, 2011 12:08 PM

It looks like Google is about to enter the travel business. A source tell Dow Jones that the U.S. Justice Department will shortly announce it has reached an accord with Google to clear its proposed $700 million purchase of travel-software firm ITA Software. That said, "Under the accord, the Justice Department is expected to impose multiple conditions on the deal," Dow Jones writes, citing its source.

ITA powers the top airline-ticket search and booking sites. As Dow Jones notes, several leading online travel companies, along with Microsoft, have urged Justice Department antitrust regulators to block the deal, arguing it would threaten competition in the online travel industry. Google, meanwhile, said the acquisition would help it provide more useful information to consumers when they search for flight data. Deal detractors include Expedia, Kayak.com and Sabre Holdings.

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