Google buys AdMob for big bucks
Image from Flickr.
It appears as though the release of the Motorola Droid may have done it: Google plans to invest heavily in mobile advertising. It will plunk down $750 million to acquire AdMob, “the world’s largest mobile advertising marketplace,” according to the AdMob web site.
The $750 million price tag makes this one of Google’s largest acquisitions to date. Not to rile the conspiracy theorists, but those who are afraid of communism because they don’t like the idea of one large entity controlling their lives, you might want to keep an eye on Google. Luckily, the company’s unofficial slogan is “Don’t be evil.”
About AdMob
So what makes a company worth $750 million? The AdMob web site says “Mobile devices are a critical media platform and we are building the tools to let every business on earth leverage mobile.” Now Google will own the power to let every business on Earth leverage mobile. I guess it can just ad that to the list of its powers. If Google takes over the same day loans industry, I think it will be in charge of everything online.
With the Release of the Motorola Droid and the Droid Eris, and with the hype surrounding it, it’s clear that smartphones, which provide numerous opportunities for mobile advertising, are in higher demand than ever. The Los Angeles Times reports:
In a recent report, AdMob said that the number of mobile ads it served had increased nearly 540% from September 2007, to 10.2 billion per month from 1.6 billion. As mobile phones morph further into pocket Internet devices, and consumers grow accustomed to performing online functions like search, gaming and instant messaging on their handsets, opportunities for advertising companies like Google will grow rapidly, analysts expect.
The L.A. Times also says Google “expects regulatory scrutiny of the AdMob deal but hopes the pact will be approved within a matter a months.”
Is Google aiming for a googol?
According to the all-knowing Wikipedia, Google has acquire 56 companies so far. Most of them are small startups. It’s most expensive acquisition so far has been YouTube, which it bought for $1.65 billion. It spent $3.1 billion on Double Click, which is now its AdSense service.
Ad Mob is the fourth-biggest purchase Google has ever made. Google bought AOL for $1 billion in 2005. Rounding out the top five for priciest Google acquisitions is $625 million Postini, an online security company. Some people might be interested to know that the Google Groups feature is derived from Deja, the first company Google acquired. Apparently the amount Google paid for Deja is too negligible to report, probably only a few mil.
This is definitely a smart move on Google’s part. They know where the market is going and are always ready to hit a gold mine every time. Admob + Google = The Next Skynet