Google Acquisition of AdMob

Professor Daniel Rubinfeld led a Compass Lexecon team working on behalf of Google in connection with its proposed acquisition of mobile-advertising network AdMob. Professor Rubinfeld was supported by Jim Ratliff and Sarah Bartlett in the Oakland office. We submitted white papers and Professor Rubinfeld had multiple in-person meetings with top FTC conomists and other decision-makers. In May 2010, the Federal Trade Commission voted 5-0 to close its investigation of the proposed acquisition, concluding that the deal “is unlikely to harm competition in the emerging market for mobile advertising networks.” The acquisition closed shortly afterward. Although the Commission believed the deal “raised serious antitrust issues,” these concerns “were overshadowed by recent development in the market,” such as Apple’s acquisition of mobile-advertising network Quattro and its subsequent development of the iAd mobile-advertising platform for the iPhone and iPad. We worked primarily with Dave Gelfand, George Cary, and Leah Brannon from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, and with Bill Kolasky and Ali Stoeppelwerth at WilmerHale, both teams representing Google.