jmke

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., October 9, 2006 - Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) announced today that it has agreed to acquire YouTube, the consumer media company for people to watch and share original videos through a Web experience, for $1.65 billion in a stock-for-stock transaction. Following the acquisition, YouTube will operate independently to preserve its successful brand and passionate community.

The acquisition combines one of the largest and fastest growing online video entertainment communities with Google's expertise in organizing information and creating new models for advertising on the Internet. The combined companies will focus on providing a better, more comprehensive experience for users interested in uploading, watching and sharing videos, and will offer new opportunities for professional content owners to distribute their work to reach a vast new audience.

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slvrl7

N BRIEF | The rumours were real! Google has purchased YouTube for $1.65 billion in a stock-for-stock transaction. Basically, the shareholders of YouTube get Google's (overvalued) stock in exchange for their shareholding. All employees of YouTube, including its founders, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen are retained.

How will this affect Google Video? Can Google make YouTube turn a profit? Can Google stave off copyright charges against YouTube? If YouTube is to be an independent unit of Google, why couldn't it just have struck an advertisement deal? Will Google change its name to 'GooTube'? :P It all remains to be seen.

Read on for Google's press release on the acquisition. The BBC has an article.

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Uzumaki Naruto