Feeding frenzy in online ad world

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01/06/2007

It’s been talked about forever, but finally it’s here; consolidation seems to be the name of the game this summer as the big players tussle to get a slice of the burgeoning web video market. The buying frenzy was sparked by Google buying DoubleClick for $3.1bn in April. Next, Microsoft paid a staggering $6bn for online marketing agency aQuantive, owner of Avenue A/Razorfish – the biggest deal in its history. Analysts are predicting a wave of other smaller acquisitions, with Valueclick thought to be among those potentially up for grabs. Meanwhile Microsoft’s new-found aggression has only added to rumours that it is intent on buying Yahoo! in a move designed to create a genuine online rival to Google.

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