MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., October 9, 2006 – Google announced today
that it has agreed to acquire YouTube, the consumer media company for people to watch and share
original videos through a Web experience, for $1.65 billion in a stock-for-stock transaction. Following
the acquisition, YouTube will operate independently to preserve its successful brand and passionate
community.
The acquisition combines one of the largest and fastest growing online video entertainment
communities with Google’s expertise in organizing information and creating new models for advertising
on the Internet. The combined companies will focus on providing a better, more comprehensive experience
for users interested in uploading, watching and sharing videos, and will offer new opportunities
for professional content owners to distribute their work to reach a vast new audience.
“The YouTube team has built an exciting and powerful media platform that complements Google’s
mission to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful,” said
Eric Schmidt, Chief Executive Officer of Google. “Our companies share similar values; we
both always put our users first and are committed to innovating to improve their experience. Together,
we are natural partners to offer a compelling media entertainment service to users, content owners
and advertisers.”
“Our community has played a vital role in changing the way that people consume media, creating
a new clip culture. By joining forces with Google, we can benefit from its global reach and technology
leadership to deliver a more comprehensive entertainment experience for our users and to create new
opportunities for our partners,” said Chad Hurley, CEO and Co-Founder of YouTube. “I’m
confident that with this partnership we’ll have the flexibility and resources needed to pursue
our goal of building the next-generation platform for serving media worldwide.”
When
the acquisition is complete, YouTube will retain its distinct brand identity, strengthening and
complementing Google’s own fast-growing video business. YouTube will continue to be
based in San Bruno, CA, and all YouTube employees will remain with the company. With Google’s
technology, advertiser relationships and global reach, YouTube will continue to build on its success
as one of the world’s most popular services for video entertainment.
