US Justice Department reviews aspects of ITA acquisition by Google

US Justice Department's review of the acquisition of ITA Software by Google is reportedly concentrated on making sure ITA's products remain available, even to potential rivals such as Orbitz Worldwide Inc, Kayak and TripAdvisor (Reuters, 28-Jan-2011). In Jul-2010, Google announced plans to acquire ITA Software for USD700 million in cash. Kayak reportedly requested that assurances that in the event of an acquisition, Google will extend existing ITA software licenses when they expire, and ensure that the software is upgraded and that a firewall is placed around proprietary software, which operates in conjunction with the ITA software and may be in ITA servers, to protect their intellectual property.