WebProNews

Google has abandoned its plans to move forward with Yahoo! on its proposed search advertising deal.

The deal fell through after the Department of Justice announced it would file an antitrust lawsuit to block implementation of the agreement.  The DOJ said," the agreement between these two companies accounting for 90 percent or more of each relevant market would likely harm competition in the markets for Internet search advertising and Internet search syndication."

Google cited concerns about a legal battle as the main reason it backed away from the deal. "Pressing ahead risked not only a protracted legal battle but also damage to relationships with valued partners. That wouldn't have been in the long-term interests of Google or our users, so we have decided to end the agreement," wrote David Drummond, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer of Google on the Google Blog.

Yahoo! said it was willing to defend the deal in court. "Yahoo! continues to believe in the benefits of the agreement and is disappointed that Google has elected to withdraw from the agreement rather than defend it in court. Google notified Yahoo! of its refusal to move forward with implementation of the agreement following indication from the Department of Justice that it would seek to block it, despite Yahoo!'s proposed revisions to address the DOJ's concerns."

Google said it too is disappointed the deal will not be moving forward but that it will continue to focus on its core mission of creating useful products for its users and partners.