Google buys Doubleclick for $3.1 billion

The bidding war between Microsoft and Google has ended with Google acquiring Doubleclick for $3.1 billion. “Google really wants to get into the display advertising business in a big way, and they don’t have the relationships they need to make it happen,” said Dave Morgan, the chairman of Tacoda, an online advertising network. “But DoubleClick does. It gives them immediate access to those relationships.” Doubleclick recently unveiled a Nasdaq-like advertising exchange that also got Google’s attention. To say the least, this acquisition cements Google’s dominancy in the online ad world.