Google snaps up mobile ad firm for $750m
GOOGLE is snapping up mobile advertising company AdMob for $750m (£448m) in a bid to make more cash from mobile phone handsets.
The all-stock deal gives Google, whose Android software is increasingly used to power smartphones such as the Motorola Droid, an important element to monetise mobile internet traffic.
Privately held AdMob makes technology that serves display ads on mobile phones and then tracks the effectiveness of those ads.
“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 Google’s vice president of product management Susan Wojcicki.
Google, the world’s biggest search engine, does not disclose how much of its revenue, which totalled nearly $22bn in 2008, comes from mobile ads.
Last month, it said its mobile searches increased 30 per cent quarter-over-quarter in the third quarter.
Google boss Eric Schmidt also said last month the firm would hit the acquisition trail, after taking a breather during the slump.