Google is going to RSVP for the RSS party PDQ.
Google is reportedly in the process of acquiring FeedBurner, a Chicago-based analytics and advertising firm which helps publishers monetize their RSS and XML feeds, according to published reports and sources.
Michael Arrington’s blog TechCrunch, which focuses on Web 2.0 products and companies, reportedly broke the story, thanks to one of its former editors in the United Kingdom.
According to Techcrunch the rumor that Google is buying Feedburner is now official. Although, Google has not confirmed the deal, but TechCrunch is usually pretty good about staying one step ahead of the press releases.
FeedBurner vice president Rick Klau, just turns out to be a former TechCrunch editor, refused to confirm the deal, but told internetnews.com, “We have a firm policy not to talk about speculation or market rumors.
But the mill is buzzing already. The deal is expected to close in 2-3 weeks and should come in around $100 million, according to tech industry gossip site Valleywag, a relatively minor deal compared to Google’s $3.1 billion purchase of DoubleClick.
Google tried to start its own feed advertising program and it fizzled pretty quickly. It is easy to see why Google would be smitten by the site. This is likely an attempt by Google to try and get back into that market.
FeedBurner is an enabler of Really Simple Syndication (RSS), pushing blog, video, and podcast content of willing contributors to subscribers. Feedburner also offers CPM based ads which is another good fit for Google who has been expanding their ads in that area lately. Currently, FeedBurner services more than 422,000 publishers.
Neither Google nor FeedBurner replied to requests for comment. A Google spokesperson also refused to comment on "rumors and speculation."
JupiterResearch analyst and online advertising industry-watcher Emily Riley told internetnews.com the buy, should it go through, would not be a surprising one for Google. She said the advertising and analytics services FeedBurner offers to syndicating publishers are similar to what Google wants to offer.
"[Google CEO] Eric Schmidt says relatively often that Google’s goal is to serve every ad dynamically, so [RSS advertising] makes a lot of sense because it is interactive," Riley said.
If the transaction goes forward, the deal will further inflate the Internet advertising company bubble. With more and more Internet users turning to web feed readers to see when their favorite sites have been updated, syndication enablers like FeedBurner are well-positioned to thrive in the future.
Other recent online advertising acquisitions worth noting include: WPP’s purchase of 24/7 Real Media for $649 million, Yahoo’s $680 million purchase of Right Media, and Microsoft’s $6 billion purchase of aQuantive.
LeeAnn Prescott, research director at Hitwise, sees the rumored acquisition as a logical step for Google.
"It makes sense that Google would want to expand its advertising reach into feeds, with so many blogs already running AdSense,” she said in a blog post. “In addition, the fast-growing Google Reader is currently not displaying ads, and Google must have an interest in monetizing it."Whether FeedBurner ultimately aids Google’s own fledgling Google Reader service or is a shrewd move to keep FeedBurner out of the hands of rivals Yahoo! or Microsoft, it is a timely investment in one of the Internet’s fastest-growing companies.