Google buys Admob for £450 million

SEARCH ENGINE Google took one step closer to digital media domination by snapping up the mobile advertising Admobfirm for a cool £450 million ($750 million).

Admob helps firms advertise on mobile web sites, as well as providing the technology for serving said adverts on mobiles. It also works with applications for in-applications advertising.

Described as 'the perfect Silicon Valley start-up' by online analysts, Admob shares an investor with the mighty Google. That venture capital firm, called Sequoia Capital, also has investments in a certain fruit obsessed gadget maker and LinkedIn.

The deal represents a bit of a bargain for Google, but it is counting on the mobile advertising market to grow.

"Mobile advertising has enormous potential as a marketing medium and while this industry is still in the early stages of development Admob has already made exceptional progress in a very short time," said Susan Wojcicki, the vice-president of product management at Google.

Google also said in an interview with Reuters that it plans to purchase around one company per month after this deal's success.

Last month, Google announced that its mobile searches increased 30 per cent quarter over quarter in the third quarter. In August Admob sent out its 100 billionth mobile ad.

The deal is Google's third largest acquisition behind its 2008 purchase of Doubleclick for $3.1 billion and its 2006 buyout of YouTube for $1.65 billion. µ