Google Argues a Forced Sale of Ad Exchange Is Too Risky

Alphabet Inc.’s Google has spent the past week in Virginia federal court seeking to persuade a judge that selling off its advertising exchange is too risky, technologically difficult and would disrupt the market.

Over the past five days, witnesses testifying on Google’s behalf said that a forced sale would upset a business worth $15.9 billion in revenue, according to US estimates for 2025 by research firm Emarketer, create ripples of uncertainty across the market, degrade service for the smallest online publishers and scare away potential buyers.

The trial is focused on how to restore competition to the technology that ...