If Microsoft acquires the ad network 24/7 Real Media, it could prove to be the savviest of its series of late entries. Sources say Microsoft is preparing a bid in the $1 billion range, nearly double
the $600 million valuation analysts placed on the ad network.
That means Microsoft would pay at least $150 million more for 24/7 than Yahoo paid for Right Media. It would also value
the ad firm at a little more than one-third the price Google paid for DoubleClick. Microsoft is favored to win this bidding war because WPP, which has also expressed interest, doesn't have the cash to
compete.
Now that Google and Yahoo have moved further into the ad brokerage business, Microsoft is sure to follow. The software giant continually under-performs in Web advertising, having
failed to develop a compelling product in MSN, while arriving late to just about every Web media trend. But the addition of 24/7 Real Media could give MSN the boost it badly needs--a broader, larger
selection of targeted audiences would raise MSN's value in advertisers' eyes, and boost the Microsoft unit's revenues in the process.
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