Merger clearance: The European Commission unconditionally clears a concentration between two main competitors on the online advertising market as they would form a more credible competitive force together than separately, thus allowing them to compete on a market characterised by a particularly strong leader (Microsoft/Yahoo! Search)

*This article is an automatic translation of the original article, provided here for your convenience. Read the original article. – Eur. Comm, 18 February 2010, Microsoft/Yahoo! Search Business, case COMP/M.5727 In a decision of 18 February 2010, the European Commission has cleared the proposed acquisition of Yahoo's online search business and related announcements by Microsoft. Microsoft is the world leader in the design, development and sale of computer software and related services. However, the transaction concerned a business where it does not enjoy the same market power, far from it, as its Internet search platform Bing and its adCenter search-related advertising platform. For Yahoo, the transaction involved its online search business, including its online search advertising