| By Maureen O'Gara |
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| October 31, 2008 11:00 PM EDT |
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4,640 |
The Wall Street Journal – which has big ears on the ground – said that Yahoo and Google could walk away from their revenue-sharing pact by the middle of next week unless a miracle happens and they come to terms with the Justice Department.
The Deal reported last week that the deal was doomed because of its antitrust implications.
In a very equivocal story late Thursday, the Journal suggested that the DOJ has been demanding a consent decree enforcing the terms of the partnership, which would subject the companies’ compliance to a judge.
Such a notion has been mentioned elsewhere before as leaving Google exposed to legal action by Microsoft.
The Journal thinks that Yahoo and Google have been talking to the DOJ about a revised deal the last couple of weeks, something that was supposed to be anathema to Google.
It also suggests that Google would bolt to avoid a legal spotlight on its market power.
The Justice Department has reportedly been putting an antitrust case together.
If the deal fails Yahoo would be left without its promised revenue fillup, a card that Microsoft could use to re-enter the game. It could also push Yahoo to close whatever combine it’s been negotiating with AOL.
Maureen O'Gara the most read technology reporter for the past 20 years, is the Cloud Computing and Virtualization News Desk editor of SYS-CON Media. She is the publisher of famous "Billygrams" and the editor-in-chief of "Client/Server News" for more than a decade. One of the most respected technology reporters in the business, Maureen can be reached by email at maureen(at)sys-con.com or paperboy(at)g2news.com, and by phone at 516 759-7025. Twitter: @MaureenOGara
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