Google beats M$ to Doubleclick with 3.1 Billion offer

Google reached an agreement today to acquire DoubleClick, the online advertising company, from two private equity firms for $3.1 billion in cash, the companies announced, an amount that was almost double the $1.65 billion in stock that Google paid for YouTube late last year.
DoubleClick, which was founded in 1996, provides display ads on Web sites little and big and has been a pain in the past with their pop up ads. I have blocked Doubleclick from my computers due various reasons. Google is that little search engine came out after Doubleclick.
Now things might change.
They provide ads to The Wall Street Journal and America Online as well as software to help those sites maximize ad revenue. The company also helps ad buyers — advertisers and ad agencies — manage and measure the effectiveness of their rich media, search and other online ads.
M$ has been looking for way to beat Google in Advertising field and have been chasing Doubleclick for sometime according the new york times article. I have provided a link below.
According to the same article; "The sale brings to an end weeks of a bidding battle between Microsoft and Google. Microsoft has been trying to catch Google in the online advertising business, and the loss of DoubleClick would be a a major setback.

“Keeping Microsoft away from DoubleClick is worth billions to Google,” an analyst with RBC Capital Markets, Jordan Rohan, said."

Links;
New York Times Article on Doubleclick sale.

Tags: google, doubleclick, double click, M$