Microsoft is again involved in secret negotiations with an online technology giant, this time on a potential deal that could significantly change the online advertising concept. Business Insider reports that Facebook is currently in talks with Microsoft to acquire Atlas Solutions, the ad-serving platform purchased by the Redmond-based software firm in 2007 for $6 billion (€4.6 billion).
Although Microsoft struggled to take over aQuantive specifically to put its hands on the Atlas Solutions technology, it appears that the company has actually struggled to find someone to buy it in the last couple of years.
And even though the Windows maker has paid $6 billion to buy aQuantive, Facebook is believed to pay a much lower price, especially because Microsoft can’t find anyone interested in this platform. According to the same source, the highest bid for Atlas was $30 million (€23 million).
If the deal goes through, Facebook could release one of the most popular advertising platforms online, as the company owns what’s very likely to be the largest collection of user data on the entire Internet.
The popular social networking service has recently announced that it had reached a record of 1 billion users per month, and many of them had actually provided their email addresses and other private information that could make an advertising platform a lot more effective.
In addition, the social network could become the right place to sell products, especially because advertisers would be allowed to select the user category they’re appealing to.
Of course, this could easily stir up criticism over users’ privacy, but Facebook would most likely find a way to deal with such an issue once the two companies reach an agreement and it manages to take control of aQuantive.
Neither Microsoft nor Facebook commented on this story, which in some cases is actually a sign that there’s something going on between the two companies.
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