Continuing with some of the themes I lay forth in this blog, I wanted to highlight Microsoft’s latest move. Today it announced that it is purchasing aQuantive (NASDAQ: AQNT) for US$6 billion in cash, which represents an 85% premium. For those of you not familiar with the company, AQNT focuses on online advertising, and it operates in three segments: digital marketing services, digital marketing technologies, and digital performance media. Microsoft declared that the rationale for the acquisition was to expand the software company’s push into internet advertising.
The following are some of the latest acquisitions to make news:
Question is who will be the next target. These are some names that I believe are worth a look or could be of interest to the likes of Microsoft, Google, or Yahoo:
In the end they might never be bought, but one thing is for sure, the latest string of acquisitions is going to raise their profile and their value.
