Google has closed its acquisition of AdMob, following news less than a week ago that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission would not block the deal.
The search giant announced plans to acquire the mobile advertising platform developer for $750 million in late 2009. Shortly after, Google revealed that the FTC had asked it for more information about the deal, an indication that the agency was concerned about antitrust issues.
But on Friday, the FTC said it wouldn’t block the deal. The acquisition raises “serious antitrust concerns,” the FTC said in a statement, but Apple’s announcement earlier this year that it would launch its own ad network ultimately led the agency to approve the deal, it said. Apple acquired mobile advertising provider Quattro Wireless in January.
Google will now begin the process of combining its own teams with AdMob’s, Susan Wojcicki, vice president of product management, wrote in a blog post. While search continues to be “central,” display and text ads in Web sites—AdMob’s forte—will also be important, she said.
AdMob was one of the first companies to serve ads in mobile applications, she wrote. Together the companies expect to be able to come up with additional mobile advertising techniques, she said.