By DAN CATERINICCHIA 02.01.08, 10:35 AM ET
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WASHINGTON -
The Justice Department on Friday said it is interested in reviewing antitrust issues associated with Microsoft Corp.'s nearly $45 billion buyout bid for Yahoo Inc. and analysts expect other enforcement agencies to soon follow suit.
"The antitrust division would be interested in looking at the competitive effects of the transaction," said Justice Department spokeswoman Gina Talamona.
A federal judge this week extended by 18 months court oversight of Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people )'s market power, which began in 2002 after a landmark antitrust settlement. The potential acquisition of Yahoo (nasdaq: YHOO - news - people ) raises even more questions on competitiveness about everything from search engines to online advertisements, analysts said.
"If this deal goes through, there will be a lot of very close scrutiny ... there appears to be lots of overlap," said Harry First, a professor at New York University's School of Law. "It's complicated and very big, and a lot of enforcement agencies will be interested."
