Search behemoth Google has acquired DoubleClick for $3.1 billion, following a bidding war with Microsoft, AOL and (allegedly) Yahoo!. The sale gives Google access to DoubleClick’s online advertising software and, crucially, its relationships with publishers, advertisers and ad agencies, including MySpace and The Wall Street Journal.
Google’s winning bid is almost three times the amount DoubleClick fetched when it went private in 2005 for $1.1 billion.
