Google's takeover of mobile advertising company AdMob has effectively been given the go-ahead by the US Federal Trade Commission. The FTC has closed its investigation after reviewing the deal and concluding that it is unlikely to harm competition in the mobile advertising market.
In a statement, the commission said that although the combination of the two leading mobile advertising networks raised serious antitrust issues, its concerns were overshadowed by Apple's recent move to launch its own competing mobile ad network. The Commission vote to close the investigation was 5-0.
A blog post from AdMob founder Omar Hamoui said "We are excited to get to what’s next and to start working with Google to develop new products and services for our advertisers, developers, and publishers. We share a commitment to helping our customers navigate and take advantage of the mobile opportunity. Together, Google and AdMob will be able to bring a whole host of new products and capabilities to mobile advertising."
He also commended the the AdMob team for its recent work and thanked the mobile industry for its support during the last six months.
[PDF statement from FTC]