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MOUNTAIN VIEW - Google chief executive Eric Schmidt says his company is working closely with regulators and that he was optimistic its proposed $3.1 billion ($NZ4.1bn) acquisition of DoubleClick will be approved.
Speaking to reporters following the company's Analyst Day meeting with Wall Street investors, Schmidt was asked whether he was confident government regulators would approve the deal.
"We are optimistic that this will close," Schmidt said of the ultimate approval of the DoubleClick deal. But he said the decision was in the hands of regulators and he had no control over the timeline.
"We are working very closely with both groups," Schmidt said, referring to US and European regulators who oversee such mergers. Schmidt said the controversy over the deal appeared to derive from efforts to block the deal by one unnamed rival.
"We are not surprised at all about the hub-hub because it came from one competitor," Schmidt said.
- REUTERS
