Google Acquires Online Advertiser for $3.1B

In the beginning, there was Yahoo, Lycos, and even a little search engine 'that could,' called AltaVista. While each offered varying abilities in crawling the web, none could quite match the rise of Google.

And although its roots were only modest, Google's impressive search capabilities quickly rocketed it to the top of the web, with the power to control the rise and fall of companies vying for space in the Internet community. Now, less than a year after buying YouTube, Google is flexing its muscle again, buying advertising firm DoubleClick for an astounding $3.1 billion.

The sheer value of the transaction eclipses Google's acquisition of massive user-fueled video site YouTube, which cost the search company some $1.65 billion.

There's no doubt that DoubleClick represents one of the most critical advertising company on the Internet. There were reportedly only two suitors for DoubleClick, with Microsoft forming the competition. Both the Redmond-based company and Google reportedly sought out DoubleClick, in their undying challenges to dominate Internet advertising. (Source: nytimes.com)

Google's venture is part of the company's desire to clean up online advertising. DoubleClick's purchase will ensure a framework for such a plan, while Microsoft will be forced to build its own infrastructure if it hopes to keep up in the transformation to Web 2.0.

DoubleClick was created in 1998 and shot to profitability during the late 90s dot.com boom. While many participants in that lucrative era were eventually swallowed up by bankruptcy, DoubleClick maintained its growth. The company's ability to accommodate web trends is part of the reason Google sought out its purchase. (Source: arstechnica.com)

The boards for each company have already approved the deal, which should lead to new projects by year end.