Microsoft: Vulnerability of the online advertising market
The U.S. software company Microsoft has to write down its online advertising company aQuantive significantly. The 6.2 billion adjustment to goodwill will be made in the fourth quarter, Microsoft announced on Monday.
Microsoft had acquired the company five years ago for $6.3 billion. At the time, it was the software manufacturer's largest purchase in the company's history, surpassed only by the acquisition of Skype for $8.5 billion last year.
With the purchase, the group wanted to catch up more strongly with rivals Google and Yahoo. "The acquisition has not accelerated growth to the extent expected, which led to the write-down," the group statement now said. In addition, expectations for future growth and profitability of the online services division, which includes the search engine Bing and the Internet portal MSN, were lower than hoped.
The online business is Microsoft's weak spot. Google, the number one search engine, rakes in billions through graphic ads and purchased links. Microsoft, instead, has to choke: In the first three quarters of the current fiscal year alone, the operating loss of the online services division was more than $1.4 billion. (SDA/RTD/DAPD/DPA)
