The advertising deal between Yahoo and Google has been put on hold until the U.S Justice Department completes an investigation about an alleged antitrust aspect of the deal, it was widely reported late last week. The deal, which was announced in June after talks between Microsoft and Yahoo collapsed, is expected to generate $250 million and $450 million in operation cash flow for Yahoo. However, the deal has come under fire from critics who say a Google-Yahoo partnership might be anticompetitive. The Association of National Advertisers, which represents 400 marketers, has called the potential alliance a “concentration of power.” Google and Yahoo have dismissed antitrust claims and say the deal will, on the contrary, make Yahoo more competitive. The American Antitrust Institute recently released a white paper on the pros and cons of a Google-Yahoo alliance.
