Google, ITA decision could come today
Surfboards lean against a wall at the Google office in Santa Monica, California, October 11, 2010. — Reuters pic WASHINGTON, April 8 — The Justice Department will likely announce a deal today with Google that would allow it to buy an airline ticketing software company while requiring that ITA Software’s products remain available to Google’s rivals, a source close to the deal said Friday.
A second source said that a deal was “looking likely”, and that an announcement could come possibly today.
Google, the world’s No. 1 Internet search engine, said in July that it would buy ITA Software for US$700 million (RM2.12 billion) in cash, an announcement that sparked worries in the tech world that travel websites such as Kayak and TripAdvisor could be deprived of ITA’s software.
One condition would touch on licensing of ITA products to Google rivals, said a third source, who spoke privately to protect relationships with the agency. — Reuters
