Yahoo To Buy Data-Driven Advertising Network Interclick For $270 Million

Yahoo has just announced that it is purchasing Interclick, a data-driven ad network. The total acquisition price is around $270 million, or $9 per share.

Interclick is a technology company providing solutions for data-driven advertising. The Company’s proprietary Open Segment Manager (OSM) platform organizes and valuates billions of data points daily to construct the most responsive digital audiences for major digital marketers. Interclick’s proprietary advertising technology helps improve data targeting in online advertising and is optimized to work with large data volumes across multiple providers and marketplaces.

Yahoo’s EVP for the Americas Ross Levinsohn said in a release: “This investment underscores our focus on enhancing the performance of both our guaranteed and non-guaranteed display business across Yahoo and our partner sites and, combined with Yahoo’s reach and advertising leadership, will deliver a powerful solution for marketers…interclick’s innovative platform will allow Yahoo! to expand its targeting and data capabilities to deliver campaigns with stronger performance metrics.”

Interclick founder Michael Katz says that the company has already worked ‘closely’ with Yahoo over the past few years, and believes the ‘combination of Yahoo!’s premium data and inventory with our platforms will create tremendous value for clients.’

It’s an odd time for Yahoo to be announcing a major acquisition considering the company’s less than stellar financial situation, following the departure of CEO Carol Bartz and amidst reports of a possible takeover.

The deal is expected to close in early 2012.

UPDATING