Google Picks Up YouTube
Google Picks Up YouTube for $1.65 Billion
by Kyle Monson
Google announced today that the company will acquire online video giant YouTube in a $1.65 billion stock-for-stock transaction.
The online rumor mill has been abuzz with speculation since last Friday, when word of the Google/YouTube negotiations leaked to the press. The announcement follows a busy day of announcements by the two companies, each of which went public with new partnerships with major media conglomerates today.
In a joint statement to the press, Google reps said that YouTube will operate independently and preserve its brand identity.
"Our community has played a vital role in changing the way that people consume media, creating a new clip culture. By joining forces with Google, we can benefit from its global reach and technology leadership to deliver a more comprehensive entertainment experience for our users and to create new opportunities for our partners," said YouTube CEO and co-founder Chad Hurley. "I'm confident that with this partnership we'll have the flexibility and resources needed to pursue our goal of building the next-generation platform for serving media worldwide."
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2006.
Well, color me surprised! I had no clue that Google wanted to acquire YouTube. As a fan of both Google and YouTube, I'm sure this will all work out for the best...
