Microsoft could, for once, welcome the regulators if Google approaches Yahoo to form an alliance in an attempt to stave off Microsoft's £22bn bid for the search-engine company.
Microsoft last week made a cash and stock offer for Yahoo worth £22bn.
Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CIO, said yesterday that any alliance between Google and Yahoo could stamp out competition in the search engine market.
He said Microsoft would "communicate [this] to regulators," according to a report in the Financial Times
Seperately, Brad Smith, general counsel at Microsoft, said in a statement that joint venture between Microsoft and Yahoo would present a much less dominant player in the internet search market.
"Today, Google is the dominant search engine and advertising company on the web. Google has amassed about 75% of paid search revenues worldwide and its share continues to grow. According to published reports, Google currently has more than 65% search query share in the U.S. and more than 85% in Europe. Microsoft and Yahoo, on the other hand, have roughly 30% combined in the U.S. and approximately 10% combined in Europe," he said.
