Microsoft gets $6b foothold in online ads

Microsoft has completed its $6bn acquisition of aQuantive in order to secure itself a slice of the online and digital advertising market.

The acquisition is Microsoft’s most expensive to date and it has created a new Advertiser and Publisher Solutions (APS) Group to handle the integration. The APS group will be headed up by Brian McAndrews, CEO of aQuantive and will incorporate the three aQuantive divisions: Avenue A/Razorfish, Atlas Solutions and DRIVE Performance Solutions.

The move mirrors Google’s purchase of DoubleClick for $3.1bn and Yahoo’s buyout of Right Media for $680m, as the Internet becomes the new advertising battleground.

“Today we take a significant step forward in our ability to capture share of the $40bn online ad opportunity and the larger $600bn ad market, which is rapidly shifting to the world of online and IP-served platforms, including TV and gaming,” said Kevin Johnson, president of Microsoft’s Platforms & Services Division (PSD). “The addition of aQuantive’s technologies and people to the Microsoft portfolio is a core, strategic investment and step forward in our plans to become one of the top two online advertising platforms in the industry.”

Microsoft paid a massive 85 per cent more than aQuantive’s share value and some analysts have already questioned the wisdom of the move.

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