In the biggest acquisition in the company’s history, Microsoft has announced that it is acquiring aQuantive, the Seattle-based online advertising services firm, in an all-cash deal at $66.50 per share, for $6 billion.aQuantive, which has approximately 2600 employees, will continue to operate from its Seattle headquarters as part of Microsoft’s Online Services Business.
aQuantive posted a profit of $54 million last year on revenue of $442 million. Its Digital Marketing Services segment consists of Avenue A | Razorfish and a number of other international agencies. The Digital Marketing technologies (DMT) Group consists of Atlas, a provider of digital marketing technologies and expertise and recently-acquired Accipiter, a publisher-side ad serving technology provider. Atlas Search (formerly Atlas OnePoint or GoToast) enables agencies and marketers to manage their PPC advertising campaigns. Accipiter provides web publishers an inventory management solution. [24×7]
Google Research Lands in Fremont
Add Google to the Greater Seattle community of Fremont’s Northwest mystique, along with the famous troll, the annual Summer Solstice parade and the presence of such high tech firms as Getty Images and Adobe.
A new Googleplex will be hatched in 60,000 square feet sub-leased from Getty Images for a new R&D center, adding to the Puget Sound center it already operates in Kirkland, home of Google Webmaster Cntral.
“We are interested in giving people the option to work near where they live, and some people want to be close to downtown,” Google spokeswoman Sunny Gettinger said. She declined to say how many people Google plans to hire in Fremont, but she said it will fill the center with new jobs, not just transfers from Kirkland.
Google’s expansion in Fremont comes as Microsoft makes a bigger push into Seattle with Friday’s $6 billion acquisition of aQuantive. In an interview with the Seattle P-I, Microsoft’s Kevin Johnson said that the company may consider shifting some employees from Redmond to Seattle.
New Online Job Board Ranks Top Candidates By Merit
TalentSpring Delivers New Level of Transparency to Job Seekers, Leads Recruiters to Best Candidates in Specific Job Categories[24×7]
Imagine applying for a new job and, almost immediately, having the ability to see the level of talent you’re competing with and, more importantly, how you stack-up by comparison. Beginning today, that experience becomes a reality with the launch of TalentSpring.
TalentSpring is a new online job board that enables job candidates to submit their resumes for merit scoring by their peers. Once scored, each resume is then sorted to allow for a “best-to-least qualified ranking” in industry-specific job categories including marketing, sales, finance and computer programming.
“Anyone that applies for a job wants to know who they’re competing with and if they’re a leading candidate, particularly if they’re reaching for the next level,” said TalentSpring founder and CEO Bryan Starbuck. “Our service delivers this information in a way that enables job candidates to prepare for potential interviews and, on the flipside, to know when they need to move on to the next opportunity.”
The new service also provides a valuable tool for recruiters and corporate HR teams seeking to expedite the process of identifying top-tier job candidates. [24×7]
