Gannett Buys PointRoll

Newspaper publishing company Gannett Co. Friday purchased online ad technology company PointRoll Inc. The terms were not disclosed, but it was widely reported that Gannett paid $100 million for PointRoll, known for creating ad banners that expand when users roll a mouse over them.

The move came about five months after PointRoll tapped investment firm Jordan, Edmiston Group Inc. to explore a possible sale. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that PointRoll, based in Fort Washington, Pa., expects sales to reach at least $35 million this year.

PointRoll Chief Executive Jules Gardner will leave the company he founded in 2000, while Chris Saridakis, PointRoll's chief operating officer and a former executive at DoubleClick Inc., will become CEO.

Gannett, which owns 101 daily newspapers, including USA Today, and 21 television stations, plans to put PointRoll technology to use on its 120-plus Web sites, said a company spokeswoman.

The acquisition is the latest example of a traditional media company purchasing Internet-oriented businesses. Last week, E.W. Scripps Co. announced it was buying comparison shopping site Shopzilla for $525 million; several months ago, Gannett, along with Knight Ridder Inc. and the Tribune Co., purchased a majority share of online news aggregator Topix.net; and last year The New York Times Co. announced it had agreed to buy About.com from Primedia for $410 million, while Dow Jones purchased MarketWatch for more than $500 million.

The move also is an example of a publisher beefing up its Internet ad capabilities. Last year, America Online purchased online ad business Advertising.com for $435 million; earlier this year, AOL tapped DoubleClick to handle online ad serving, inventory management, and other duties.

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