News
Google To Buy DoubleClick for $3.1B
Seeking to expand its already well-honed ability to sell targeted Internet
advertisements, online search leader Google Inc. said it has agreed to pay $3.1
billion in cash to acquire ad-management technology company DoubleClick Inc.
The two companies announced the deal after the markets closed Friday. The boards
of both companies have approved the takeover, which is expected to close by
the end of the year.
New York-based DoubleClick helps its customers place and track online advertising,
including search ads, which Google -- more than its nearest search competitors
Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. -- has turned into an extremely lucrative business.
Shares of Mountain View-based Google rose 3 cents to $466.32 in after-hours
trading. DoubleClick has been privately held since 2005.
The sellers are San Francisco-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman,
along with JMI Equity and DoubleClick management.