October 25, 2003
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Internet search engine Google will buy Primedia's Sprinks online ad service for an undisclosed amount, acquiring one of its biggest competitors for content-based online advertising.
By Reuters
Primedia, which is in talks to sell its high-profile New York magazine, announced the sale in a statement. It also said the companies have agreed to a four-year distribution and revenue-sharing pact for Primedia's About.com Internet network.
"In one move they've wiped out a competitor and gained distribution," Danny Sullivan, editor of a popular online search engine publication, said regarding Google's pact to buy Sprinks, a pay-per-click advertising network.
As part of the deal, the New York-based media company said Google will become exclusive provider of targeted and search advertising across About.com and most of Primedia's consumer media and magazine Web sites.
Debt-laden Primedia, majority owned by buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, has divested assets such as the magazines Modern Bride and Seventeen.
Primedia recently said it is considering selling New York magazine, which media watchers say could fetch up to $80 million.
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