And the winner is… Google for a mere $3.1b
A agreement was announced today outlining Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick combining DoubleClick’s expertise in ad management and analytics for media buyers and sellers with Google’s leading advertising platform and publisher monetization services.
I admit it felt a little weird reading the news on Yahoo! in a press release a veritable who’s who of quotes:
“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 & 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.
“This transaction will strengthen our advertising network by expanding our access to publisher inventory and enabling us to serve the needs of a broader set of advertisers and ad agencies,” said Tim Armstrong, Google’s President, Advertising and Commerce, North America.
“Google is the absolute perfect partner for us,” said David Rosenblatt, Chief Executive Officer of DoubleClick. “Combining DoubleClick’s cutting edge digital solutions for both media buyers and sellers with Google’s scale and innovative resources will bring tremendous value to both our employees and clients.”
“When we acquired DoubleClick in July 2005, we saw an opportunity to partner with a great management team to further enhance the company’s capabilities and growth trajectory,” said Philip Hammarskjold, Managing Director of Hellman & Friedman. “This transaction affirms the successful transformation of DoubleClick, positions the firm for the future, and greatly benefits our investors.”
Did we miss anyone?
Joking aside, this is a tremendous move for the industry, definitively redefining Google as an ad network capable of supporting search, display, video, radio, and print. Can we now lay to rest the constant comparison between Yahoo!, Google, and MSN search? Each partner truly provides unique values and insights that should play a role in every marketing strategy.