Google to buy Doubleclick for $3.1 Billion

[#Michael]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Search engine leader Google is buying privately held DoubleClick, a top digital marketing services firm, for $3.1 billion in cash, the companies said Friday afternoon.

Google (Charts) is buying DoubleClick from private equity firm Hellman & Friedman, which bought DoubleClick in 2005 for $1.1 billion in a deal that took the company private. For Google, the deal will likely help boost its presence in the area of Internet display advertising, ads on banners, videos and other non-text based types of ads. DoubleClick specializes on placing and serving banners and other display ads on prominent Web sites. Google has been bulking up in this area through last year's acquisition of online video firm YouTube, but still trails rival Yahoo! (Charts) in the display market.

"DoubleClick's technology is widely adopted by leading advertisers, publishers and agencies, and the combination of the two companies will accelerate the adoption of Google's innovative advances in display advertising," said Google CEO Eric Schmidt in a statement.

The companies added in the statement that the deal, which should close by the end of the year, will lead to more relevant ads for consumers and a more efficient ad buying and selling process for online publishers and advertisers.

During a conference call with analysts on Friday afternoon, Schmidt said Google had been thinking about making this acquisition for a "very, very long time."

Schmidt added that the addition of DoubleClick to Google's business would strengthen Google's position with large brand-name advertisers, who tend to rely more on display ads than the search ads that are Google's bread and butter business.

Google's deal for DoubleClick is both a blow to Yahoo and Microsoft, which also was said to be interested in buying DoubleClick. Microsoft (Charts) owns MSN, the third largest search firm, and has struggled to catch up with Google and Yahoo in the online advertising business.

Full Article: CNNMoney.com

Also:

SAN FRANCISCO - Web advertising leader Google Inc. said on Friday it will acquire DoubleClick Inc., a leading online advertising network, for $3.1 billion, consolidating Google?s grip on the Internet ad market.

The deal represents the largest acquisition in Google?s history and comes just six months after Google paid $1.65 billion to acquire video-sharing site YouTube. Terms of the deal call for Google to pay cash to DoubleClick investors.

The DoubleClick acquisition promises to fortify Google, the juggernaut of search-based advertising on the Web, as it expands into print, radio, video, mobile and TV ad markets. The combination should also bolster the ad targeting and analysis capabilities that Google can offer advertising customers.

Full article: MSNBC.com

[null_]

Holy ****. That's a lot of money.

[Quillz]

$3.1 billion is one of the largest buyouts I've heard of.

[Express]

I don't think this is a good investment for GOOG for the kind of money they are paying.

[#Michael]

$3.1 billion is one of the largest buyouts I've heard of.

Maybe in terms of the internet...but Nestle just bought gerber foods for just over $5 billion on Tuesday.

[+Tantawi Subscriber²]

More info:

http://adsense.blogspot.com/2007/04/double...cquisition.html

[jim87654]

I don't think this is a good investment for GOOG for the kind of money they are paying.

Do you how much internet advertisement revenue is growing each year?