AOL Bids $900 Million for European Online Marketer TradeDoubler

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 16, 2007 - 9:13am.

New York - AOL on Monday offered $900 million in cash to acquire TradeDoubler, a Sweden-based provider of online marketing services.

TradeDoubler's board of directors unanimously recommended that shareholders approve the offer, and shareholders holding 20% of outstanding shares have already pledged their support.

Founded in 1999, TradeDoubler's European customers include Dell, The Apple Store and Telia.

"This investment provides a unique opportunity for both TradeDoubler and us to capitalize on the continued rapid growth in online advertising and e-commerce in Europe," said AOL CEO Randy Falco. "We believe that TradeDoubler will be complementary with our other businesses, especially with our third-party advertising network, Advertising.com."

The Wall Street Journal reported that AOL parent Time Warner has no intention of raising its bid for TradeDoubler, despite the fact that the company's largest shareholder, Alecta, has rejected AOL's bid as too low.