MS calls Google-Yahoo deal price-fixing agreement

Microsoft on Friday sought to enlist support for its opposition to a new advertising collaboration deal between Google and Yahoo.

A day after the companies announced an agreement allowing Google to sell search ads on Yahoo, Microsoft contacted advocacy groups that work to influence policy in Washington. According to a source, the software company said in an e-mail that the Google-Yahoo agreement would “limit choices for advertisers and publishers” and “destroy a competitive alternative.”

Specifically, Microsoft takes the view that the deal is akin to a price-fixing agreement, with Google and Yahoo effectively setting a minimum price for advertisements on key word searches, according to another source familiar with Microsoft’s thinking.