The Search Engines Have Been Busy this Week – A Recap

This week the search world has been rampant with news of buyouts and related rumors. Here is a snapshot of the events of interest:

1. The Dow Jones is up for sale and rumors started by a connected analyst state that Google may be interested. I say “don’t hold your breath.” This is likely a tall tale. Here is another article from Bloomberg: “Dow Jones Holders Say Murdoch Bid May Trigger Auction (Update4)“
2. Yahoo responds to Google’s purchase of DoubleClick by purchasing the remaining shares of Right Media for $680 Million; an ad buying exchange very similar to DoubleClick.
3. Microsoft has expressed interest in purchasing 24/7 Real Media; one of the few remaining media companies in the Internet advertising industry that have not already been snatched up. In fact, 24/7 Real Media appears to be the only advertising firm that would provide Microsoft with the ability to compete with Google and Yahoo in this advertising exchange space. According to a recent posting by the Houston Chronicle on 24/7’s stock holdings these unconfirmed reports of a Microsoft buyout is creating uncertainty with investors so at this point there is no telling if the talks are going anywhere.
4. Microsoft purchased ScreenTonic, a European mobile technology pioneer that specializes in advertising on the mobile web. Steve Berkowitz, Senior Vice President of Microsoft’s Online Services Group had this to say, “the acquisition of ScreenTonic will be part of our long-term strategy to deliver ad experiences that map to the environment. Together, we will be able to provide relevant ads where consumers are, when they are actively engaged and communicating.”
5. Microsoft completed its acquisition of TellMe Networks, a company specializing in speech recognition, automated enterprise support services, and voice-enabled mobile search. The purchase was originally announced in March of 2007 and was touted by Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft as a way to “enable us to deliver a new wave of products and revolutionize human-computer interaction.”