In June, as the US Department of Justice began its investigation of that arguably brazen move, the two companies forged an outline of what such an arrangement would look like if it were to see official approval.
But opposition steadily grew as Google and Yahoo heads stood strong for an October launch. Weeks later, they softened a bit, deciding to allow the DOJ to do its business. Yet, late last week, The Wall Street Journal reported a high potential of failure for their original proposal. Finally, today Google has confirmed the end of its agreement with Yahoo.
Google’s senior vice president of Corporate Development, David Drummond, who also sits as the chief legal officer for the company, cites government regulators’ ongoing scrutiny and concern and the possibility of a “protracted legal battle” and potential “damage to relationships with valued partners” as the key factors in its discontinuation of the search advertising plan put forth in late spring.