AOL has acquired Tacoda, an online behavioral targeting network. Tacoda will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but the New York Post is putting the figures between $200 million and $300 million according to its sources.
Tacoda was founded in 2001 and uses technology that allows advertisers to display ads based on users online behavior. With the acquisition, AOL says it will be able to extend its targeting capabilities to advertisers and extend the reach of its third party display network Advertising.com.
“The acquisition of Tacoda will build on our advertising momentum, letting us better serve advertisers by enhancing our ability to precisely target advertisements across an even broader network,” said Ron Grant, AOL President and COO.
“We are committed to bringing advertisers and publishers a full range of tools and services, along with the widest reach, and with Tacoda we’re taking another step toward that goal.”
According to eMarketer, the behavioral targeting market is on track to increase to $3.8 billion by 2011, from $350 million in 2006. There have been a number of companies buying online ad networks the largest being Microsoft’s purchase of aQuantive for $6 billion and Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick for $3.1 billion.
“AOL is a perfect match for Tacoda. By combining our targeting capabilities with AOL’s existing set of solutions, we can better serve online advertisers and publishers as the market for behavioral targeting continues to emerge,” said Curt Viebranz, CEO of Tacoda.
