April 15 2007

Google acquires DoubleClick

Following recent speculation, Google has announced that it is to acquire digital marketing technology and services company DoubleClick, for $3.1 billion in cash. The acquisition will combine DoubleClick's expertise in ad management technology for media buyers and sellers with Google's leading advertising platform and publisher monetization services.

According to the company, the combination of Google and DoubleClick will offer superior tools for targeting, serving and analyzing online ads of all types, significantly benefiting customers and consumers. For agencies and advertisers, Google and DoubleClick will provide an easy and efficient way to manage both search and display ads in one place. They will be able to optimize their ad spending across different online media using a common set of metrics.

"It has been our vision to make Internet advertising better - less intrusive, more effective, and more useful. Together with DoubleClick, Google will make the Internet more efficient for end users, advertisers, and publishers," said Sergey Brin, Google's Co-Founder and President, Technology.

"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 Eric Schmidt, Chief Executive Officer of Google.

Both companies have approved the transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, and is expected to close by the end of the year.

Which sector will be next for Google domination (Googlisation)?

Emma Herrod