Google officially acquired
the crowd-sourced mapping and traffic app Waze earlier this month, but
the $1.1 billion deal is hitting a last-minute jam. The search giant has
confirmed with
Reuters that the Federal Trade Commission recently opened an antitrust investigation into the purchase, even though Waze will mostly operate independently. According to the
New York Post,
Google didn't file a review with the FTC because Waze makes less than
$70 million annually, which is below the bar for an "automatic review."
Reuters
notes that the FTC can put a magnifying glass to any closed deals at
its discretion, namely to ensure there was no prior intent simply to
stifle competition. These latest happenings might make for a temporary
roadblock between the integration of certain data between Waze and Maps,
notes the
Post -- assuming the deal indeed gets an okay from
The Man. Either way, we'd imagine concessions will be made if needed, as
Google's no a stranger to these types of proceedings.
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