Aquantive who? The company Microsoft is acquiring for its highest purchase price ever may not even register on the radar of most consumers.
But it's a well-known entity in the online advertising industry and can give Microsoft some much-needed--even if pricey--ad-serving technology, some industry experts said. Microsoft said it was buying Aquantive early on Friday, shocking many observers with a $6 billion purchase price, which is three times the amount it has paid for any other company and an 85 percent premium on Aquantive's closing stock price on Thursday. It is also double what Google agreed to pay for DoubleClick last month. Aquantive's stock rose nearly 80 percent after the deal was announced.
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