Google Escapes Breakup Ruling as Judge Imposes Behavioral Remedies
Alphabet (GOOG +1.59%)(GOOGL +1.59%) has dodged a breakup after U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema declined the government's request to force a sale of its ad exchange and publisher ad server.
The decision comes about 16 months after the judge found Google had illegally monopolized key advertising technology markets, but it closes off the most severe outcome the case could have produced.
Instead of forcing Alphabet to sell AdX, its ad exchange, or DFP, its publisher ad server, the judge accepted most of the parties' proposed behavioral remedies, with modifications of her own.
The Google Network business, where the contested products live, has been shrinking. Revenue in this segment fell for three straight years and slipped again in the second quarter, while every other revenue line at Alphabet grew.