Today’s announcement that Microsoft is paying about $6 billion to buy aQuantive is the latest ownership change of an advertising-related Internet company.
Yesterday WPP Group announced that it was buying 24/7 Real Media for $649 million. And earlier this week Silver Lake Partners and ValueAct Capital announced they were buying Acxiom for $2.25 billion and taking it private.
Three deals, $9 billion dollars of consideration, and another big shift in ownership and alignment of Internet advertising alliances. All sparked by Google’s $3 billion purchase of DoubleClick.
While old media continues to slow dance (think News Corp / Dow Jones and Thompson / Reuters), new media is turning into a mosh pit at an AC/DC concert.