Advertising.com

 

International business sold to AOL for $435M

Founded in 1998 in Baltimore, USA, Advertising.com was one of the first companies to offer direct marketing on the Internet. Using sophisticated mathematical algorithms to predict likely click through rates and purchasing behaviour, ad.com guarantees payment to publishers for click-troughs, charges advertisers on new customers received, and pockets the difference. Advertising.com was ranked as one of the fastest-growing technology companies in the U.S., achieving more than 250% revenue growth even during the economic downturn from 2001 to 2003, and was sold to AOL in 2004 for $435M.