March 16, 2006

Various news reports that are close to the matter suggest that DoubleClick is near inking a deal to buy ad management firm Falk eSolutions.

An acquisition would offer DoubleClick outright ownership of perhaps its strongest competitor in the European market, where Falk eSolutions is most established.

Falk's clients include Mediacom, mediaedge:cia Netherlands and ZenithOptimedia.

The transaction has been in the works for approximately 2 months. No details were immediately available on a likely acquisition price or closing date.

Last year, DoubleClick was acquired by Hellman & Friedman and JMI Equity, which later sold off its e-mail division to Epsilon.

Falk eSolutions was founded in Germany in 1998, and has since expanded to North America and Asia. The company is privately held, but recently stated its intention to issue a European IPO.

It offers ad delivery services for publishers and advertisers through its AdSolution platform.

In 2005, Falk purchased the parent company of rich media firm Commflash, in order to keep up with the trend of ad management firms offering rich media compatibility.

Source: Click Z