Microsoft is reportedly one of the suitors for online advertising network DoubleClick.
As reported on WSJ.com, DoubleClick's owner--private equity firm Hellman & Friedman--is looking to cash out for roughly $2 billion. The firm acquired DoubleClick in 2005 for $1.1 billion.
There are plenty of options for DoubleClick and it could go public again, but a Microsoft purchase would be intriguing.
Here's why:
It's unclear whether Microsoft would pull the trigger on a big deal, but it may add up. Consider the options for Microsoft. It could buy Yahoo in an expensive deal. It could continue to invest in online services that aren't getting traction. Or it could take the middle ground, which would be acquiring DoubleClick.
AG Edwards analyst Kevin Buttigieg sums up the situation in a research note:
"DoubleClick provides a web-publishing platform for Internet ads that we believe would provide a boost to Microsoft's online services ambitions which have so far been lackluster. According to the (WSJ) article DoubleClick is seeking at least a $2 billion valuation and has about $150 million in annual revenues. This would be far less a purchase of Yahoo! by Microsoft which has been long rumored and feared by investors, though Yahoo! has a much broader portfolio that DoubleClick."