AOL splashes $435m on Advertising.com

Ad-tastic

By Tim Richardson • Get more from this author

Posted in Financial News, 24th June 2004 11:58 GMT

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America Online (AOL) is to splash out $435m (£240m) cash to buy online ad outfit Advertising.com. The deal is expected to be completed by late Summer - subject to the usual checks - and should help boost advertising revenues for the Internet giant.

Combining AOL's own advertising inventory with the Advertising.com network will provide advertisers with an "unprecedented opportunity" to reach more than 140m Net users, the company said today.

Advertising.com employs more than 300 staff and is based in the US. It also has branches in the UK, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Last year it saw revenues jump 80 per cent to $132m (£73m) generating $12.1m (£6.7m) in income.

Said AOL chairman and chief exec Jonathan Miller: "Online advertising is showing very strong growth across the industry, and the acquisition of Advertising.com underscores AOL's determination to strengthen its competitive position. This acquisition is a strategic move that will bolster AOL's advertising business, building on the strides made in the past year."

AOL ad revenues rose from $204m (£113m) in Q4 2003 to $214m (£118m) in the first three months of this year. It also racked up two consecutive quarters of advertising growth for the first time since 2000. ®