Google proposes to break up some businesses to avoid antitrust lawsuits

Google has made concessions in an attempt to block a potential antitrust lawsuit by the U.S. government against its sprawling ad-tech business. Under a proposal, Google proposed to spin off part of its business of auctioning and placing ads for websites and apps into a separate company under Alphabet. The entity could be valued in the tens of billions of dollars, depending on what assets are included. It’s uncertain whether any proposal that doesn’t involve an asset sale will satisfy the Justice Department, whose antitrust officials have signaled they want Google to make deep structural changes to its ad tech business, rather than just committing to changing business practices. The Justice Department has been engaged in a long-running investigation into allegations that Google abused its role as a digital ad broker and auctioneer, accusing the company of soliciting business for itself at the expense of rivals. A related antitrust lawsuit could be filed as soon as this summer.

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