Google Adds To DoubleClick Intrigue

The biggest Internet players have at least a passing interest in DoubleClick, an online advertising network that reaches hundreds of websites, and they could be willing to overpay for it for a variety of reasons.

slick playing cards, DoubleClick in the pot, and its private equity partners Hellman & Friedman said Google's interest, cited by sources close to the talks, may have pushed Microsoft out of the bidding.

Though all four companies covet the reach DoubleClick has as a third-party advertising serving platform (DoubleClick boasts over 1,500 ad clients for its network), the premium price might not reflect the real value behind the firm. Ashkan Karbasfrooshan Microsoft won't pay $2 billion for the company. That could be unvarnished truth, or simply a step in the bidding process.

Karbasfrooshan made a stronger point about AOL's possible interest, and impact on a deal with any of the other three firms. If another firm wins DoubleClick, AOL would probably pull its business out instead of giving it to a competitor; they aren't about to let Microsoft or Yahoo profit at its expense.

He also raised, and dismissed, the possibility of AOL buying DoubleClick at the escalated price, even though they have made a similar purchase previously:

Of course, AOL could step in and buy it, as it bought Advertising.com for $435M, which today drives a lot of revenue for Time Warner