Microsoft reportedly eyes Web ad firm

Shares of 24/7 Real Media soar 39% in pre-market trading after report that Microsoft may bid $1B for firm.

May 1 2007: 9:41 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A report that Microsoft might be interested in 24/7 Real Media sent shares of the Internet advertising firm soaring in pre-market trading Tuesday.

The New York Post reported Microsoft (Charts, Fortune 500) is considering a price in the $1 billion range for New York-based 24/7 Media. It closed Monday with a market value of about half that price.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial have a median target price of $11 for the firm, or which would give it a market value of $561 million.

Shares of 24/7 Media (Charts) gained $3.85, or 39 percent, in pre-market trading Tuesday. Shares had already shot up 24 percent in trading Wednesday and Thursday last week on a rumor that advertising firm WPP Group (Charts) was interested in the company. But shares then retreated 5 percent through the close of trading Monday.

Microsoft reportedly was interested in buying online ad firm DoubleClick, but competitor Google (Charts, Fortune 500) reached a deal on April 13 to buy that firm for $3.1 billion from private equity firm Hellman & Friedman, which had taken it private two years ago in a $1.1 billion deal.

Yahoo (Charts, Fortune 500) announced Monday it would buy the 80 percent of online ad exchange Right Media it didn't own for $680 million, valuing the entire firm at around $850 million

CNNMoney.com editor at large Paul LaMonica had suggested in his Media Biz blog on Thursday that Microsoft should look at 24/7 Media or other DoubleClick competitors such as ValueClick or aQuantive.

Shares of ValueClick (Charts) were also up 4 percent in pre-market trading Tuesday. Top of page

Media Biz blog: MSN remains Microsoft's weakest link
Sponsors
Market indexes are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer LIBOR Warning: Neither BBA Enterprises Limited, nor the BBA LIBOR Contributor Banks, nor Reuters, can be held liable for any irregularity or inaccuracy of BBA LIBOR. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2012 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer The Dow Jones IndexesSM are proprietary to and distributed by Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and have been licensed for use. All content of the Dow Jones IndexesSM © 2012 is proprietary to Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Chicago Mercantile Association. The market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2012. All rights reserved. Most stock quote data provided by BATS.
© 2012 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Privacy Policy. Ad choices .
Market indexes are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer LIBOR Warning: Neither BBA Enterprises Limited, nor the BBA LIBOR Contributor Banks, nor Reuters, can be held liable for any irregularity or inaccuracy of BBA LIBOR. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2012 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer The Dow Jones IndexesSM are proprietary to and distributed by Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and have been licensed for use. All content of the Dow Jones IndexesSM © 2012 is proprietary to Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Chicago Mercantile Association. The market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2012. All rights reserved. Most stock quote data provided by BATS.
© 2012 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Privacy Policy. Ad choices .