Well… I guess Microsoft, Yahoo, and AT&T got their wish: the FTC has opened anti-trust investigations into Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick, says The New York Times.

The Federal Trade Commission has opened a preliminary antitrust investigation into Google’s planned $3.1 billion purchase of the online advertising company DoubleClick, an industry executive briefed on the agency’s plans said yesterday. […]

The F.T.C. has also issued Google a detailed list of questions, the industry executive said. This step, known as a “second request” for information, can suggest that a proposed acquisition raises more serious antitrust issues. But legal experts said the request is mainly a sign that the agency is closely scrutinizing the Google deal.

The FTC’s move isn’t surprising or unexpected, really. Any time you have this much money and information changing hands the government is sure to get involved in some form or fashion. The broader issue, however, is how the FTC will handle the slew of acquisitions that were announced in the wake of the Google/DoubleClick deal.

• Yahoo bought Right Media
• WPP bought 24/7 Real Media
• Microsoft bought aQuantive

Is this massive consolidation of online advertising good for competition? Maybe Google stood out because it was first. Maybe it stood out because it was Google. But the Google/DoubleClick deal was just the beginning of a much bigger condensing of online advertising into a few, already-powerful hands. I’m no legal or anti-trust expert. What happens when an entire industry consolidates like this? Anything?

Microsoft - who was one of the companies pushing for the FTC investigation - made an even bigger purchase of aQunative for $6 billion. So if the FTC is going to investigate Google’s $3 billion purchase… will it also investigate Microsoft’s purchase? Did, as Andy Beal asks, Microsoft shoot itself in the foot?

More discussion can be found at Techmeme.