AOL to Acquire TradeDoubler for $900 million

We first heard about the AOL-TradeDoubler rumors in a comment to a blog post, and it looks like it’s happening. AOL is acquiring Sweden-based TradeDoubler, a performance marketing company, for €695 million in cash, or about US$900 million. TradeDoubler, which is strong in Europe, will complement AOL’s advertising.com, which has made little headway there. The company has about 350 employees.

See here for a translated version of a French article announcing the deal. This is a 9% premium on TradeDoubler’s Friday close price. The board of directors of the company has accepted the bid, and it is now going to a shareholder vote.

TradeDoubler’s revenue last quarter was about US$60 million, with operating profits of around US$6.7 million. 90$+ of the company’s revenues are generated outside of Sweden. The UK is by far TradeDoubler’s biggest market. The company has about US$54 million in cash on hand.

Update: Press Release (in English) is here.

Update:
A 10% TradeDouble stockholder opposes the deal.