Redmond, Wash. - Continuing a recent flurry of acquisitions in the online ad space, Microsoft announced on Friday that it will acquire online advertising and marketing firm aQuantive for $6 billion. The deal is the largest-ever acquisition by Microsoft.

Founded in 1997, Seattle-based aQuantive counts 2,600 employees and is the parent company of interactive agency Avenue A/Razorfish, as well as DNA, Amnesia, Neue Digital, e-Crusade and Duke.

"Today's announcement represents the next step in the evolution of our ad network from our initial investment in MSN, to the broader Microsoft network including Xbox Live, Windows Live and Office Live, and now to the full capacity of the Internet," said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

The company said the purchase will strengthen its relationships with advertisers, agencies and publishers, and add resources for developing next-generation advertising for media planning, video-on-demand and IPTV.

The deal follows on a spate of recent acquisitions in the online ad space, including WPP's purchase of 24/7 Real Media, AOL's Adtech acquisition, and Google's deal to buy DoubleClick for $3.1 billion.

Related Links:
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070518/aqf037.html?.v=8

http://tinyurl.com/2hv38v (CNET)

http://www.aquantive.com