Google Friday announced a deal to acquire the Sprinks online ad service from Primedia, giving Google and even bigger share of the burgeoning contextual advertising marketplace. While the companies did
not disclose the value of the deal, they said it includes a four-year distribution and revenue sharing agreement for Primedia's About.com unit. The deal makes Google the exclusive provider of
contextual ad sales - also known as pay-per-click advertising sales - for Primedia's About.com unit and for most of Primedia's Consumer Media and Magazines Group websites. Google, which claims to
have a base of more than 150,000 advertisers adds About.com's 450 topic-specific Guide Sites that cover more than 10,000 topics and the CMMG 127 targeted magazine-related sites. Market-watchers have
begun speculating that Google may soon mount an initial public offering that would likely raise capital to expand its base even further.
