Microsoft News Tracker

Viacom apparently isn’t put off by Microsoft’s abandonment of the URGE music service that their MTV subsidiary created with Microsoft, because they have signed on for a new long term advertising and content deal.

Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) and Microsoft Corp. today announced a broad-based, strategic alliance under which major divisions of both companies will collaborate on advertising, content distribution, event promotions and games over the next several years.

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Last week, the aQuantive shareholders voted their approval of the company’s acquisition by Microsoft (as well they might since the offer was roughly twice aQuantive’s market cap). Today, Microsoft announced completion of the acquisition and the creation of a new Advertiser and Publisher Solutions Group with former aQuantive CEO Brian McAndrews as the newly anointed Microsoft Web Ad Czar.

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Microsoft’s forthcoming acquisition, aQuantive, the Web advertising firm, surprised analysts today when it announced that second quarter profits fell by 22% due to ballooning costs despite revenues that were up 48%. This won’t stop the deal, but casts doubt on the wisdom of the $6 billion dollar price tag.

Microsoft and proposed acquisition aQuantive today announced that the 30 day review period had passed without a second request for information from the Federal Trade Commission and thereby the acquisition has been approved in the USA. There are still other regulatory hoops to jump through overseas, but they avoided the detailed scrutiny that some 3rd parties had requested.

Perhaps Microsoft executives should be careful of what they wish for. They famously suggested an antitrust investigation of Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick and got their wish. Now John R. Wilke and Kevin J. Delaney at the Wall Street Journal are reporting that the FTC is looking into other recent acquisitions in the Internet advertising industry including Microsoft’s blockbuster acquisition of aQuantive.

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