BloggingStocks

Specific Media snares $100 million in online advertising free-for-all

Tom Taulli — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 14:27:00 EST

Filed under: Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT)

Over the past couple weeks, there have been some mega private fundings of dot-coms. Of course, there was Microsoft's $240 million investment in Facebook. And now, we have another blockbuster: Francisco Partners has invested $100 million in Specific Media, a top online advertising network that reaches over 130 million unique users.

With Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) buyout of DoubleClick and Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) deal for aQuantive, it's hard not to be excited about Specific Media's space. "I think there will be more consolidation," said Tim Vanderhook, CEO and co-founder of Specific Media, in a BloggingStocks.com interview. "So with the $100 million, we can also be a consolidator."

For example, he sees lots of opportunities in Europe. Specific Media is also looking at advertising types beyond banners. So does this mean moving into video? Perhaps. Although, Vanderhook is somewhat tempered. "It's still a small market and there are issues to work out," he said. "I think there could be a shake-out in the sector. So, we could see a lot of assets for sale."

Visit DealProfiles.com to check out more information on recent VC deals.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

Specific Media snares $100 million in online advertising free-for-all originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 01 Nov 2007 14:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Insider's insight into 24/7 Real Media sale

Tom Taulli — Fri, 18 May 2007 12:20:00 EST

Filed under: Deals

When I go to NY, I try to meet up with 24/7 Real Media (NASDAQ: TFSM)'s CEO Dave Moore (I did an interview with him back in August for BloggingStocks). He's a pioneer of the online advertising space and started his company back in 1995.

In fact, his company nearly went bust during 2002 but he was able to save everything. Now, he has sold his company to WPP Group PLC (NASDAQ: WPPGY) for a cool $649 million.

To get some insight on the deal, I talked to Tim Vanderhook, the CEO of online advertising company Specific Media. According to him:

"This acquisition shows a continued interest by traditional ad agencies to bring search marketing services into their fold. 24/7 Real Media is best known for its industry-leading search marketing tools, along with its ad-serving technology. Although 24/7 gives WPP the ability to enter the display advertising market, this purchase is primarily driven for the need to bring search engine marketing services under the big agency umbrella. 24/7 purchased Decide Interactive in 2004 and successfully scaled the technology to a very large consumer base. For WPP, this acquisition allows them to push the search marketing technology out to all of the agencies it owns and gives them higher margins in an industry that is struggling to maintain the status quo. The increased margin can only happen if they are able to funnel their current clients' search engine marketing campaigns through 24/7's technology. This will be a very lucrative deal for WPP in the long run if they are able to truly integrate this business into all of the agencies they own. Unique and differentiated technologies will be the key to success in the future as large ad agencies seek to differentiate their service offerings from each other. "

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

Insider's insight into 24/7 Real Media sale originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 May 2007 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video interview with Specific Media CEO: Yahoo has a chance against Google?

Tom Taulli — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Google (GOOG), Yahoo! (YHOO)

Last week, I met up with Tim Vanderhook, who is the co-founder and CEO of Specific Media. He started the company in 1999 while he was only 18 years old.

Since then, the company has become a player in the online advertising industry and has deals with companies like ABCNews, FOX and MLB.com.

Basically, Specific Media's technology helps companies better target demographics, geographies and even behaviors -- thus eliminating wasted impressions.

In fact, last June the company raised $10 million in a Series A funding. The investors included Enterprise Partners Venture Capital and Shepherd Ventures.

Tim certainly has some interesting views on the online marketplace. Here's his take on the battle of Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) versus Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO).

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

Video interview with Specific Media CEO: Yahoo has a chance against Google? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Apr 2007 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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