Steven Davidoff has already
combed
through the merger
agreement
between Microsoft and aQuantive, finding a $500 million reverse breakup fee
payable by the buyer if the
deal
founders on antitrust issues. Davidoff believes aQuantive suspects that such
regulatory problems may be lurking, especially since Microsoft is
challenging
Google's purchase of DoubleClick on antitrust grounds. "If there are antitrust
problems with the aQuantive transaction, expect Google to try and turn the
tables," Davidoff suggests. On the other hand, the $500 million may be an
incentive for Microsoft to drop its challenge to the DoubleClick deal, thus
reducing the likelihood of a tit-for-tat response from Google.
—Jeffrey Kanige
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