• Forbes.com, Monday, October 30, 2006 11:45 AM

In a recent Forbes column, venture capitalist Martin Sosnoff, who has invested in Google, Microsoft, Comcast, Akamai and IBM, says "anyone who sells his Google stock now and pays capital gains taxes is feckless." The search giant, currently trading at a near-record high of around $475, is still a buy, as its "numbers are dancing far above what even the most bullish analysts had construed for its September quarter." He adds that its acquisition of YouTube for $1.65 billion "is a petty cash transfer."

But it's also a potential headache. Following the decision of Viacom to force Google to remove its content from YouTube, other media companies may follow suit. If they do, YouTube could start losing audience. Others may choose to sue. It remains to be seen how much lawsuits like these would cost Google.

Still, the risk reward is potentially huge, says Sosnoff--"maybe 100 million 20somethings' eyeballs. Advertisers must be licking their chops." Many are waiting to see what YouTube will be able to safely offer besides a banner ad.

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