Google Spares AdX from Forced Sale in Major Antitrust Ruling

Alphabet Inc.'s Google has dodged a major antitrust blow in a Virginia court, avoiding a forced sale of its AdX advertising exchange. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema declined to order the divestiture on Wednesday, opting for behavioral remedies instead.

The ruling follows an earlier finding by Brinkema that Google holds illegal monopolies in publisher ad servers and exchanges. The judge had said the company's anticompetitive conduct had 'substantially harmed Google's publisher customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web.'

Google shares traded around 1% higher following the news.