Internet Merger Rally Ahead?

With DoubleClick perhaps on its way into the Google empire, shares of competing Internet advertising firms are basking in the warm glow of the merger news.

Google prevailed after an intense bidding war with Microsoft for the deal, and other media firms including Yahoo and Time Warner had expressed interest. The news sparked speculation that the DoubleClick acquisition might only be the first for the sector.

Shares of Aquantive, the second largest ad placement company behind DoubleClick, soared more than 13 percent on Monday to $32.26 after several Wall Street analysts raised their ratings and price targets.

Shares of another rival firm, 24/7 Media, jumped 12 percent, while ValueClick's stock increased by 3 percent.

The business of placing internet advertising is intensely competitive, and Google's potential acquisition of DoubleClick only steps it up for other major media firms. But while investors bid up shares of the other potential targets, the suitors are busy trying to stop the DoubleClick deal, which is subject to approval from antitrust regulators.

Having come back from the brink of death after the bubble burst, these online media firms have seen it all during their short lives. Whatever the outcome from the latest merger news, they will surely appreciate this loving from Wall Street while it lasts.

by Megan Barnett

Photograph by Rick Wilking/Reuters/Landov