• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, July 3, 2012

Nearly five years after the fact, we now know what Microsoft got in return for dropping $6.3 billion on ad firm aQuantive: zllch.  The software giant revealed this week that it is taking a $6.2 billion non-cash charge to account for the buyback in 2007.
 
“That’s a huge charge -- but even more significant when one considers what Microsoft paid for aQuantive: $6.3 billion,” AllThingsD writes.
 
Microsoft on Monday said the deal gave it some useful online ad tools, but admitted that: “The acquisition did not accelerate growth to the degree anticipated, contributing to the write down.”
 
“The splashy acquisition, which included Avenue A/Razorfish, was meant to counter Google’s DoubleClick buy and to give far-behind Microsoft a much-needed boost in online advertising,” paidContent recalls.
 
What went wrong? “The industry has evolved beyond where aQuantive was when Microsoft bought it,” Brendan Barnicle, senior research analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, tells The New York Times’ Dealbook blog.
 
As such, “Microsoft's online advertising business has remained wildly unprofitable in the five years since it bought aQuantive,” notes CNNMoney.com. “In Microsoft's most recent quarter, the company said its online services division lost nearly half a billion dollars.”
 
“Microsoft probably should have told everyone before the quarter's close,” scolds BetaNews.com. “Doing so [Monday], during a big holiday week (Fourth of the July), mitigates the negative news. Lots of people are on vacation.”
 
“While this will impact Microsoft’s accounting statement, the company noted that it does not ‘expect this accounting write down to affect its ongoing business or financial performance,’” The Next Web notes. “However, this massive write down could spook Microsoft investors into looking harder into any mega-purchases that the company attempts to execute in the coming years.”