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 A settlement with the European Union's regulator would mean that
Google, the world's biggest internet search engine, would escape a
possible fine of as much as $5 billion or 10 percent of its 2012
revenue.
Such an outcome would mirror the company's success in the United
States last year where it received only a mild reprimand from the
Federal Trade Commission, which said Google had not manipulated its
website results following a 19-month investigation.
Google and the European Commission are close to a deal and a
decision is expected in the next few days or in a couple of weeks at
the latest, a senior European Union official told Reuters.
A second person familiar with the matter confirmed the likely
settlement.
A Commission spokesman declined to comment on whether or not a deal
was close. "We are at a critical moment in the investigation," he
said.
"We don't comment on rumors and speculation," a Google spokesman
said in a statement.
The EU official said Google's latest proposal, its third since EU
Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia rejected an earlier offer
in October as unacceptable, was "much better".
It includes commitments from Google on how it will treat rivals and
how it will use content from other providers in future.
The Commission has said that Google may have favored its own
products and services in search results at the expense of
competitors.
Google submitted the new offer in mid-January, in essence building
on its second proposal with no dramatic changes, the second source
said.
In that offer, the U.S. company said it would let rivals display
their logos and web links in a prominent box, and content providers
decide what material Google can use for its own services.
It would also make it easier for advertisers to move their campaigns
to rival platforms such as Yahoo! and Microsoft's Bing.
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EU regulators will not seek feedback from the 125 rivals, including
Microsoft and third parties, who commented on Google's previous
proposals as they have a clear idea of their thinking after the last
two market tests, the official said.
RIVALS READY TO CHALLENGE COMMISSION
Google's critics said they wanted the chance to vet the offer and
were ready to take on the regulator if left out of the process.
"We would challenge a settlement agreed upon without a market test,"
said Michael Weber of German online mapping service Hotmaps.
"The concerns raised by the Commission's investigation are too
important to consumers for them to be addressed by a settlement that
is not thoroughly vetted," said lobby group FairSearch, whose
members include U.S. online travel sites Expedia and TripAdvisor,
and French comparison site Twenga.
ICOMP, another lobby group that counts Microsoft and four other
complainants among its members, agreed.
The critics have said Google's earlier concessions would only
entrench its dominance, and that it would be better for regulators
not to do a deal than end up with a flawed outcome.
(Editing by Erica Billingham)
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