Social Media and Marketing

Microsoft’s plans to buy Yahoo’s Internet search and search advertising businesses have been cleared by both European and US regulators.

Published: 22 Feb 2010

Microsoft’s plans to buy Yahoo’s Internet search and search advertising businesses have been cleared by both European and US regulators.

Under the terms of the 10-year “Microhoo” partnership, Yahoo! will use Microsoft’s new Bing search engine technology on its own sites, while Yahoo! will act as the exclusive global sales force for the companies’ premium search advertisers.

The companies said they would begin integrating the relevant operations in the “coming days”, acting on plans they have been working on since they proposed the deal in July last year. Microsoft would assume responsibility by the end of 2010 for the computer-generated search results and advertising links on Yahoo’s pages.

Yahoo chief executive Carol Bartz said that the idea was to allow the company to focus on providing services that internet users enjoyed - not on developing the technology.

“This breakthrough search alliance means Yahoo can focus even more on our own innovative search experience,” she said in a statement.

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said that the two companies could offer better competition to Google together than separately.

“Although we are just at the beginning of this process, we have reached an exciting milestone,” he said. “I believe that together, Microsoft and Yahoo will promote more choice, better value and greater innovation to our customers as well as to our advertisers and publishers.”

Justice Department officials concluded "that the proposed transaction is not likely to substantially lessen competition in the United States, and therefore is not likely to harm" Internet users or advertisers.

“The competitive focus of both Microsoft and Yahoo! is predominately on Google and not on each other,” the agency said in a statement.