The IPA has welcomed the news that the US Department of Justice and the European Commission have officially agreed the merger of Yahoo! and Microsoft. Although the planned merger was cleared last year by regulators in Australia, Brazil and Canada, the terms of the agreement required clearance by U.S. and European regulators before it could commence.
Says Mark Fagan, Chairman, IPA Search Group and Digital Media Director, Golley Slater: “We very much welcome this decision and hope that this deal will provide a more robust competitor in the UK from which clients and consumers can benefit over the forthcoming months and years.”
Says Nigel Gwilliam, IPA Digital Consultant: “This deal is a positive outcome for agencies and their clients in the UK and Europe as a whole. The paid-for search market here is particularly dominated by one player and having a stronger alternative with the scale to innovate can only improve levels of competition."
According to Microsoft and Yahoo!, implementation of the deal is expected to begin in the coming days and will involve transitioning Yahoo!’s algorithmic and paid search platforms to Microsoft, with Yahoo! becoming the exclusive relationship sales force for both companies premium search advertisers globally.
Says Yahoo! Chief Executive Officer, Carol Bartz: “Yahoo! gets to do what we do best: combine our science and technology with compelling content to build personally relevant online experiences for our users and customers.”
Says Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer: “Although we are just at the beginning of this process, we have reached an exciting milestone. I believe that together, Microsoft and Yahoo! will promote more choice, better value and greater innovation to our customers as well as to advertisers and publishers.”