Google Buys YouTube for $1.65B

[Sahara Trader]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Internet search leader Google is snapping up YouTube for $1.65 billion, brushing aside copyright concerns to seize a starring role in the online video revolution.

The all-stock deal announced Monday unites one of the Internet's marquee companies with one of its rapidly rising stars. It came just a few hours after YouTube unveiled three separate agreements with media companies to counter the threat of copyright-infringement lawsuits.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20061010/D8KLEQIG0.html

[Hobbs]

Wall Street was upbeat Tuesday about Google Inc.'s agreement to acquire privately held YouTube Inc., the No. 1 Internet video-sharing site on the Web, for $1.65 billion in stock.

The deal, which is by far Google's largest yet, is regarded as a largely defensive one that leapfrogs Google into a leading role in the Internet's burgeoning online-video marketplace while holding its media and Web-portal rivals at bay.

J.P. Morgan analyst Imran Khan reiterated his overweight rating on Google and said the deal would be a "strategic positive" for the Internet giant. He trimmed his 2007 profit outlook by 1%, or 5 cents a share, to $13.30 a share to reflect the cost of the purchase.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B101771BF%2DDDDB%2D4420%2DAB44%2 D2AEB9005A63F%7D&siteid=