Panel Debates Google-AdMob Merger

Google's acquisition of mobile advertiser AdMob was put under a microscope Thursday when industry experts debated whether the Federal Trade Commission should block the deal to preserve competition in the growing mobile advertising market.

The FTC is currently examining Google's proposed $750 million purchase of AdMob, which is currently the leading provider of mobile ads followed by Google. Together, they control at least 70 percent of the nascent mobile ad market, according to Jonathan Kanter, a former FTC attorney who now represents players in the Internet advertising market including Microsoft. Kanter argued, during a Capitol Hill forum on the issue sponsored by arts+labs, that the case includes many of the elements FTC officials look to when considering whether to block a merger such as the No. 2 player buying the No. 1 player in a market and a desire to remove the top player as a competitor instead of a need on the part of Google to obtain some technology it currently lacks. He added that the FTC has a "long history of challenging" mergers in emerging markets because if one party "gets so far ahead, it's too hard for other people to catch up." But Glenn Manishin, a lawyer with Duane and Morris, argued that given how small the mobile advertising market is at this point, it's "way too soon to make a judgment." He also disputed Kanter's claim that there are barriers to market entry in the mobile ad market, saying "if you know anything about Web code," it would be simple to enter the mobile ad market.