EU weighs decision on Google ad biz breakup

An unfavourable order can break up ad tech business from core services

Google was accused of abusing its dominance over advertising technology to crush competition, as the European Union fired off an antitrust charge sheet that strikes at the heart of the US firm's sales model and threatens a breakup of the lucrative business.

Margrethe Vestager, the EU's competition commissioner, said the Alphabet Inc. unit had favoured its own ad exchange programme over its rivals and bolstered the company's central role in the ad tech supply chain as well as Google's ability to charge a high fee for its service. Should the commission decide that Google acted illegally it may be forced to divest part its ad sales services, she said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Market reaction to the announcement was muted as Google shares were little changed, down 0.2% in premarket trading. European investigations take years to conclude and the previously eye-catching fines that ran into the billions have had little impact on the company's share price. The US previously sued Google over the same issue and the UK has an open investigation.