Breaking – Microsoft to Acquire aQauntive for $6 billion

Friday, May 18th, 2007 by Andy Beal

Breaking – Microsoft to Acquire aQauntive for $6 billion

Microsoft has finally found its online advertising partner, with news that it will acquire aQuantive. After missing out on DoubleClick to Google, watching Yahoo pick up Right Media and WPP buying 24/7 Real Media, Microsoft decided to go “all in” with a $6 billion cash deal, paying $66.50 a share!

“The advertising industry is evolving and growing at an incredible pace, moving increasingly toward online and IP-served platforms, which dramatically increases the importance of software for this industry,” said a statement from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. “Today’s announcement represents the next step in the evolution of our ad network.”

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Seattle, aQuantive is the parent company of Avenue A | Razorfish, Atlas and Drivepm.

It’s share price has already jumped 78% on the news!

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11 comments on “Breaking – Microsoft to Acquire aQauntive for $6 billion”

David Dalka Says:

May 18th, 2007 at 9:55 am

Wow!

[link removed, see profile link]
Brian Chappell Says:

May 18th, 2007 at 10:16 am

Wow. They spent twice as much as Google did on double click and I have never even heard of aQauntive. I sure hope its worth it for them if they are dropping 6 BILLION dollars.
Jeremy Luebke Says:

May 18th, 2007 at 10:32 am

Wow Avenue A Razor fish. Don’t they have some huge SEO clients?
Wil Reynolds Says:

May 18th, 2007 at 11:00 am

Yes, they have HUGE SEO clients! Gotta spin that off, like Google may do with Performics.
Andy Beal Says:

May 18th, 2007 at 11:09 am

Yeah, it’s getting crazy. Google, Yahoo and MSFT are now all in the SEO biz. The scary thing is if they all look at each other and decide, “let’s just keep the SEO units”. When just one of them owned an SEO firm, the others could point fingers, now they all have a reason not to spin-off the SEO units – cos everyone else has one.
Wil Reynolds Says:

May 18th, 2007 at 11:34 am

No spin off!!
http://searchengineland.com/070518-082836.php (at the bottom).

“Asked about whether agency Avenue A | Razorfish would be spun off, CFO Liddell said no. McAndrews will apparently report to Johnson.”

This is getting good.
Warren Pattison Says:

May 18th, 2007 at 12:34 pm

Does this signify the death of the large-business-client for the independent Online Agency or Consultant? With the one stop shops these acquisitions are creating and unsettled talk of MicroHoo, I can’t see Agencies competing against G,Y,M for Fortune 1000 Companies when Agencies would be left competing directly with the traffic source.

When you consider how engines currently provide FREE tools and advice to optimize ad-revenue to any size advertiser, the inevitability of PPA model adaptation through engine’s content networks (current and recently acquired), and the possibility of two traffic sources in Google and MicroHoo creating an advertising oligopoly, what’s left?
$6 BILLION DEAL: Microsoft To Buy aQuantive - WickedFire - Affiliate Marketing Forum - Internet Marketing Webmaster SEO Forum Says:

May 18th, 2007 at 1:19 pm

[...] $6 BILLION DEAL: Microsoft To Buy aQuantive This deal makes the Google / DoubleClick acquisition look like chump change. Breaking – Microsoft to Acquire aQauntive for $6 billion | Marketing Pilgrim aQuantive is the parent company of Avenue A | Razorfish, Atlas, and DRIVEpm. Some of you may have worked with DRIVEpm (a network), and the other two are very well known companies too. __________________ Lifetime Text Links – $1 – New Dir Business Text Links – $1 – One Way Links Win a mofo PS3 or Xbox 360! I’m buying! [...]
links for 2007-05-19 | The Marketing Technology Blog Says:

May 19th, 2007 at 2:18 pm

[...] Microsoft to Acquire aQauntive for $6 billion | Marketing Pilgrim Microsoft has finally found its online advertising partner, with news that it will acquire aQuantive. After missing out on DoubleClick to Google, watching Yahoo pick up Right Media and WPP buying 24/7 Real Media (tags: microsoft aquantive onlineadvertising) [...]
mdainc Says:

May 21st, 2007 at 9:26 pm

AvenueA will have to be spun off. Clients are already freaking out.

My guess is that MicroSoft moves their online advertising account to AveA to pump up it’s value then they spin it and get back a big chunk of what they overpaid.

MRM is Microsofts interactive ad agency today and their resources are flooding every agency in San Francisco with resumes. I think they see the writing on the wall
O Plano “10, 20, 30, 40″ da Microsoft « Sites de Busca, Web & Inovação « MigLog Says:

November 16th, 2007 at 10:51 pm

[...] já deram um primeiro grande passo adquirindo a aQuantive este ano, um dos principais players da publicidade online. Por outro lado, o Google adquiriu a [...]