Google may buy DoubleClick

Google has emerged along with Microsoft as a contender to buy DoubleClick, presenting competition that stands to increase the final sale price of the online-advertising company, people familiar with the situation said in The Wall Street Journal.

Microsoft has appeared less likely to win the bidding as the potential price for the company surpassed $2bn (£1bn), people familiar with the situation said in the newspaper.

Yahoo and Time Warner's AOL online unit also have talked to DoubleClick — which is majority-owned by San Francisco private-equity firm Hellman &Friedman — though it is unclear whether AOL is still in the race, these people said.

DoubleClick is using investment bank Morgan Stanley to help explore its options, including a possible stock market listing, the newspaper reported last week. Hellman &Freidman has reportedly set a price tag of at least $2bn for the advertising company.

Such a price tag could amount to a hefty return for the private equity firm, which took DoubleClick private in mid-2005 in a deal worth $1.1bn.

Representatives from Google were not immediately available for comment.

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