Google and Ebay forge alliance

Google and Ebay announced a ground-breaking partnership on Monday that links the fortunes of the online giants at a time when their strategies had threatened to put them increasingly on a collision course.

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By creating a more complex network of dependencies between the leading online companies, the deal could also serve to dampen speculation about mergers in the industry that has been rife in recent months.

Ebay said it had given Google an exclusive contract to supply text-based advertising for its websites outside the US, echoing its earlier agreement to carry advertising from Yahoo in its home market. Also, the companies announced a non-exclusive worldwide “click-to-call” advertising agreement under which they will carry their respective voice services – Ebay’s Skype and Google Talk – on each other’s shopping and search pages. Click-to-call adverts create an online voice connection between a web user and advertiser.

Concern that Google would expand into online commerce and payments has cast a shadow over Ebay recently and is frequently mentioned on Wall Street as one of the biggest reasons for underperformance in the online auction company’s shares over the past 18 months. The threat from Google was also seen as one of the main reasons for Ebay’s alliance with Yahoo.

Artículo en FT

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