Microsoft's Yahoo! Bid faces antitrust hurdles

The world’s lading software company Microsoft, which dominates the global computer market with its ubiquitous Windows software, is now looking to diversify, especially in the online advertising market.

For the purpose, the Redmond giant has offered to buy search engine Yahoo! for $44.6 billion. The software maker is struggling hard to meet the Google challenge, and take a bigger slice of the online services market.

If all goes accordingly, the Yahoo acquisition would likely give a significant boost to Microsoft’s immense efforts to combat its arch-rival Google in online-search competition.

But, Microsoft-Yahoo merger deal is expected to face hurdles from European and U.S. antitrust enforcers and lawmakers that can delay the completion of the deal for six months or more.

However, US merger-law experts asserted that Microsoft would eventually win approval for Yahoo buyout.

In the United States, the Department of Justice or the Federal Trade Commission scrutinize any proposed deal before letting it to go through. In Microsoft-Yahoo merger deal, the U.S. Justice Department has shown interest in checking over the proposed acquisition.

Giving a confirmation that the justice department would undertake an antitrust investigation, Gina Talamona, a Justice Department spokeswoman, said Friday: “The antitrust division would be interested in looking at the competitive effects of the transaction.”

Meanwhile, Microsoft believes its proposed deal to acquire Yahoo will eventually receive regulatory approval, and the deal probably will close in the second half of the year.

"We've worked closely with our legal counsel, and we're confident we can obtain all the necessary approvals in a timely fashion," said Kevin Johnson, the president of Microsoft's Platforms & Services Division.

The Redmond, Washington-based world’s largest software company settled a Justice Department antitrust case back in 2002 and it still remains under supervision in a Washington court as part of a related consent decree.

Internet mammoth Yahoo said Microsoft’s proposed offer will be evaluated “promptly” and carefully by its board that will determine whether or not the offer fits into the context of its strategic plans.