(18-Feb-10) Microsoft and Yahoo! say they will move ahead with their joint search engine venture after getting a green light from European and U.S. regulators, though analysts say their union is unlikely to shave much off Google’s dominant market share any time soon.
The U.S. Department of Justice and the European Commission have approved the deal without restrictions, a statement released by the two companies Thursday said.
Yahoo!’s algorithmic and paid search engine platforms will begin the transition to Microsoft’s more popular Bing engine in the coming days with Yahoo! becoming the dominate ad sales force behind the reorganized service.
Microsoft has said acquiring Yahoo!’s search business allows it to become a more credible alternative to Google and provide greater value to advertisers, according to a European Commission statement.