U.S. approves AT&T buy of ad technology firm Ingenio

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. antitrust authorities have approved telephone company AT&T's (T.N) purchase of the advertising technology firm Ingenio, the Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday.

The FTC included the deal on a list of approved mergers that it releases periodically. AT&T announced the deal last month without disclosing the terms.

AT&T Inc bought Ingenio to boost its directories business and compete more directly with Google Inc (GOOG.O). Ingenio's technology, called "pay per call," allows companies to post online advertisements and pay fees depending on how many phone calls they receive.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Andre Grenon)