Google’s planned acquisition of ITA Software will dramatically reduce referrals to OTA sites.

An antitrust investigation into a core aspect of Google’s search service may affect the gateway’s referrals to online travel agencies (OTAs).

US regulators have opened an extended inquiry into Google’s planned acquisition of online travel service ITA Software, The Financial Times reported.

The inquiry by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) investigates antitrust concerns over Google’s efforts to build new, specialised services, such as travel information, directly into its search results pages.

OTAs and online businesses that rely on forwarded traffic from search engines fear that they will be displaced or suffer from fewer visits if Google displays the information directly on its results pages instead of referring users.
The planned ITA deal has been attacked by OTA stakeholders, being called “a frontal assault on a core area of internet life” by chairman of online travel site Expedia, Barry Diller. He also urged regulators to either block or impose tough conditions on the merger.

Meanwhile, Google remains confident that antitrust concerns won’t be realised, as the DoJ seeks more information from the parties in a ‘second request’ for information about the ITA acquisition.
“While this means we won’t be closing the deal right away, we’re confident that the DoJ will conclude that online travel will remain competitive after this acquisition closes,” a Google blog said.
ITA Software is privately held and has about 500 employees.