Here's why Google passed on the Twitch deal - report
It appears Google skipped out on acquiring Twitch because it would likely have not passed muster with the Federal Trade Commission.
According to a report on Forbes, a Twitch buyout could resulted in antitrust claims against it by the FTC if Twitch was considered by the government regulator committee as direct competitor.
The report states that because of this, Twitch and Google could not agree on the size of a potential "breakup fee in case the deal did not go through."
In recent years Google was said to be courting the idea of buying Spotify and instant messaging company WhatsApp. The later was bought by Facebook instead.
You can read the full report on the Twitch $970 million buyout by Amazon through the top link.
Thanks, Eurogamer.