Why did Microsoft buy aQuantive?
In other words, Microsoft bought the company, and paid a big premium, in order to fend off other suitors. The bidding for aQuantive was competitive, one of the reasons that the value increased to $6.3 billion, more than double what Google paid for DoubleClick about a month earlier.
When did Microsoft buy aQuantive?
2007
Microsoft bought Seattle-based advertising technology firm aQuantive for $6.3 billion in 2007 in what would later be seen as an epic blunder. Microsoft was looking for an edge against Google in the online advertising market, and, well, you can go Google how that turned out.
What happened to aQuantive?
aQuantive was acquired by Microsoft for $6.4B on May 18, 2007 .
Why did Microsoft buy aQuantive in 2007?
Microsoft bought Seattle-based advertising technology firm aQuantive for $6.3 billion in 2007 in what would later be seen as an epic blunder. Microsoft was looking for an edge against Google in the online advertising market, and, well, you can go Google how that turned out.
Is Microsoft becoming the advertising giant it was predicted to become?
That means Microsoft is nowhere near being the “industry leading, Internet-wide advertising platform” that then-president of Microsoft services Kevin Johnson predicted it would become when it bought aQuantive. Microsoft paid an 85% premium for the company’s stock after most of aQuantive’s rivals had already been gobbled up by competitors.
Is Microsoft’s online advertising business still profitable?
Microsoft’s online advertising business has remained wildly unprofitable in the five years since it bought aQuantive. In Microsoft’s most recent quarter, the company said its online services division lost nearly half a billion dollars. Over the past 12 months, the division’s losses reached nearly $2 billion.
Can aQuantive evangelize the business of advertising — not software?
“The task of evangelizing the business of advertising — not software — was akin to asking Willie Wonka to grow vegetables,” says one former aQuantive manager who has since left Microsoft. “No amount of explanation about ad revenue versus software revenue or Google’s plan to make software free could refocus a Windows-obsessed culture.