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AOL
Enters Into Agreement to Acquire Behavioral Targeting Firm
TACODA
DULLES, VA
July 24, 2007
AOL announced
today that it has entered into a definitive
agreement to acquire TACODA, an online behavioral targeting advertising
network.
TACODA will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL.
TACODA, founded in 2001, employs advanced technology
that enables advertisers to
serve highly relevant ads based on consumers' online behaviors.
Using TACODA's
technology, AOL will be able to extend its targeting capabilities
to advertisers and
publishers and extend the reach of its third-party display network,
currently the largest
in the U.S.
"
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 (June 2007), the behavioral
targeting market is set to increase
to $3.8 billion by 2011, from $350 million in 2006.
" 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. "I'm also delighted to have the opportunity to
work with Ron and with AOL
CEO Randy Falco, who are putting in place all the pieces needed
to create a world-class
advertising network."
TACODA, based in New York, employs approximately
100 people. The closing of the
transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and
regulatory approvals. Financial terms of the deal were not
disclosed.
Other recent corporate acquisitions by AOL in
2007 include Third Screen Media, the
leading mobile advertising network and software provider,
and AdTech AG, the leading
international online ad-serving company based in Frankfurt,
Germany. AOL acquired
Lightningcast, a leader in delivering advertising solutions
for on-demand, live and
downloaded video content across the Web, in 2006. AOL acquired
Advertising.com,
which operates the largest third-party display network, in
2004.
About TACODA
TACODA®, Inc. runs one of the world’s largest
and most advanced behavioral targeting
advertising networks. Since 2001, TACODA has provided a comprehensive
range of
behavioral targeting solutions to thousands of Web publishers
and brand marketers. Its
patent pending technologies power TACODA Audience Networks™ which
enables
brand advertisers to target relevant messages to specific
audience segments.
About AOL
AOL® is a global Web services company that operates some of
the most popular Web
destinations, offers a comprehensive suite of free software
and services, runs one of the
largest Internet access businesses in the U.S., and provides
a full set of advertising
solutions. A majority-owned subsidiary of Time Warner
Inc. (NYSE:TWX), AOL LLC is
based in Dulles, Virginia. AOL and its subsidiaries also
have operations in Europe,
Canada and Asia. Learn more at AOL.com.
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