EU Probes Google Deal

Google might have thought it was onto a winner when it spent $3.1 billion to acquire online ad firm Doubleclick. But the fallout has proved to be more than they might have anticipated.   First the deal has been under review since May by the Federal Trade Commission. Now the EU Commission is launching an investigation, citing concerns over competition. It’s set a date of April 2, 2008 to reach a decision.   Google has pledged to work with the EU Commission to demonstrate the advantages in the acquisition.   “We seek to avoid further delays that might put us at a disadvantage in competing fully against Microsoft, Yahoo, AOL and others whose acquisitions in the highly competitive online advertising market have already been approved," Google head Eric Schmidt told the BBC.