Microsoft, feeling left out after Google bought Doubleclick and Yahoo picked up Right Media, is reportedly “in talks” to purchase 24/7 Real Media. The New York Post says that Microsoft is considering an acquisition price of $1 billion for the ad management firm, an over-valuation of at least $400 million. A little nervous perhaps that they’ll be out-bid (again) by a close competitor? WPP Group is also reportedly eyeing 24/7 Real Media, though it seems less likely that they’ll win out.
24/7 stock has in the meantime soared 33.3% since the rumors broke. There’s been a significant amount of speculation, however, on the likelihood of this acquisition. Some analysts suspect that Microsoft is eying alternative ad firms like aQuantive or AvenueA|Razorfish. Others, most significantly Search Engine Land’s Danny Sullivan, have been outspoken about the conflict of interest for a search engine that’s operating simultaneously as a search marketer. Sullivan writes,
“You simply cannot — cannot! — have your own in-house division designed to help people rank well on your own search engine. It means the entire third party search marketing industry, which already has some mistrust of search engines, is going to lose whatever faith they have left.”
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Further Reading
- Report: Microsoft to buy 24/7 Real Media for $1 billion (Between the Lines)
- Which Market is More Rational: Public or Private? (HipMojo)
- Microsoft and WPP weigh $1b bid for 24/7 Real Media (Times Online)
24/7 FINALLY gets what it always wanted. I was one of the original 24/7 team a decade ago when it started and I’m glad to hear Dave Moore and co. hung in there long enough to see it happen.