DoubleClick Inc, once the leader in online advertising sales and representation, has sold its North American Media unit to rival L90 Inc for $5m cash and a 16.1% stake in the merged company, which will be known as MaxWorldwide Inc.

MaxWorldwide will become the largest web ad sales company, leaving DoubleClick free to focus on developing marketing software and services. Last October, L90 got out of the technology business by selling those assets to DoubleClick, consolidating the ad delivery industry.

Now it seems DoubleClick is returning the favor, its US sales and representation business allowing MaxWorldwide to aggregate more publishers into its stable, to be able to more effectively compete against the large single-shop powerhouses such as AOL, MSN and Yahoo.

The combined value of the deal - 4.8 million shares and $5m - comes to less than $10m, but DoubleClick can receive $6m later if certain performance conditions are met. DoubleClick chairmen Kevin O'Connor will sit on MaxWorldwide's board. The firm will be based in New York.

© ComputerWire