Microsoft Corp. is in talks to buy DoubleClick Inc., the Internet advertising company owned by private-equity firm Hellman & Friedman LLC, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation.
DoubleClick hired Morgan Stanley to explore its options, including a possible stock-market listing, the Journal said, citing the sources, who indicated there are other potential suitors.
Hellman & Friedman is seeking at least $2 billion, almost double the $1.1 billion it paid for the New York-based company in 2005, the newspaper said.
The company has a center in Thornton, where its data business is based.
The purchase would give Microsoft tools to battle Google Inc. for ads that appear on websites. DoubleClick works with advertisers to create online campaigns, such as streaming video clips to promote movies.
The company’s Dart technology monitors the performance of Internet ads for marketing companies.
“Microsoft is seeing the growth in display advertising after the last couple years were dominated by search,” said Sameet Sinha, an analyst at Kaufman Bros. LP in New York who covers DoubleClick competitors aQuantive Inc. and ValueClick Inc.
DoubleClick had about $150 million in sales last year.
