Online advertising services firm 24/7 Real Media is to be acquired by the WPP group for $649 million.
The old time internet advertising firm had its origins serving ads for Yahoo! and Netscape in 1994 and was formerly founded the following year as Real Media. After numerous acquisitions it took its current name and grew to have 20 offices in 12 countries, serving over 200 billion advertising impressions every month.
In a statement, 24/7 Real Media CEO David J Moore said that the deal validates the importance of emerging, digital media to the global advertising market.
From a market perspective Moore is right. Serious deals such as this one highlight the increasing value of the online advertising marketplace as a significant player in the global marketing business. It will also have venture capitalists with investments in advertising related companies rubbing their hands with glee; their investments look a whole lot better today than they did yesterday.
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Another missed opportunity.
FIRST!
I sort of felt like all this was petering out a little, but just the last few days the deals being talked about have been huge, or at the least big for what was acquired. Seems like a real goldrush again.
“In a statement, 24/7 Real Media CEO David J Moore said that the deal validates the importance of emerging, digital media to the global advertising market.”
… it certainly does :). Very nice to hear, this sale had been in the works for a long time now hadn’t it?
I think this event will encourage even more ’snap decision’ acquisitions by traditional media agencies. However, there are only so many online networks that can be bought before only the dregs are left, and there are far more large advertising / marketing agencies than there are online ad networks. Things are heating up.
-Matt
Looks like a great acquisition ($649 million) is alot of money …
- this puts Youtube for 1.6billion in a new light … Looks completly dumb
I agree… this is a lot of money. I’ve worked with all the Ad systems and 24/7 has given me the most problems with accuracy in reporting metrics. Interesting how other players are starting to polish their look so shoppers can pick them up. I just noticed Zedo yesterday changed their UI to include more Web 2.0 special effects…
Please, folks, stop comparing every acquisition to youtube. Google has a whole lot of cash on-hand, and one can’t look at their acquisitions in the same “vein” as others. There are many subtle advantages to owning a property such as youtube.
JUST A LOT OF MONEY!
Probably any online advertising company is currently an acquisition target…
A lot of money, but WPP wouldn’t spend this much amount of money if they don’t think Real Media is profitable. They’re looking at the big picture.
Ever since Google got DoubleClick, there is a lot of things going on in Ad companies related acquisitions. I wonder if by the end of he day all those small players will exist. That is what i don’t like. Small companies, are very focused and they can provide a better product… I would not like to see Google as the one and only ad player ….
Duncan, your historical perspective is not accurate. 24/7 Media acquired Real Media, not the other way around. Today’s management team is pretty much the same one that started 24/7 Media back in the day. Congratulations to David Moore and his team.
I’m biased here, of course, but though the ad network model is compelling to potential acquirers, the future is the exchange model such as ContextWeb’s ADSDAQ, Doubleclick’s coming exchange and Right Media. They encourage openness and, ultimately, the best deal for both publisher and advertiser. Not sure if 24/7 has any exchange plans….
i agree that it felt like this rumor of TFSM getting bought was going on a long time, died down a bit and then caught back up again over the last few days. 649mm is a lot of money and I am sure the VC firms are licking their lips who own pieces in online advertising related companies.
Thanks for the post.
To say that “the deal validates the importance of emerging, digital media to the global advertising market” sounds like someone from 1997 trying to pump up interest in the online advertising market. Does anyone question “the validity of the importance” of online advertising any more?
duncan, i don’t have anything personal against you, but sometimes your writing style can be a little too cute/long-winded for me. i am not referring to this article specifically (i liked this one), but there are others. the putty cat bit? and i really think you spent too long with entropia. short and sweet is what i have long liked about TC. maybe i’m alone in my opinion, but i figured i’d at least let you know.
thanks
WPP maybe should have to change financial advisors!? Just aprox. 3 years ago WPP would have acquired directly Real Media for much more less… don’t you think?
What exactly were they after with this acquisition? If it’s technology they overpaid for what 247 has. I’m with Frank regarding 247 and their reporting…and their optimization (or lack thereof)
but hey, more power to 247 and congrats to all of ‘em!
What/Who is WPP?
This ad system blows goats, have proof.
Their market reach is crazy, but take it from a lowly designer here in the 2.0 sphere, their software sucks wicked hard.