London - Global advertising firm WPP announced on Thursday that it will acquire search engine marketing provider 24/7 Real Media for $649 million.

Founded in 1995, New York-based 24/7 Real Media provides search engine marketing, consulting and optimization for clients including Google, Yahoo and MSN. The company reported 2006 revenues of $200 million, up 43% from the previous year.

London-based WPP's holdings include ad agencies including Ogilvy & Mather and Young & Rubicam.

The deal, expected to close in the third quarter, follows similar recent acquisitions including Google's $3.1 billion purchase of DoubleClick and AOL's deal announced yesterday to buy Germany's Adtech.

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