aQuantive owns Atlas Media Console, a tool for advertisers and publishers to deliver media and ad content, Drive Performance Media, a media broker, Franchise Gator, a performance media and behavioral targeting business, Avenue A|Razorfish, described as one of the largest ad agencies in the world, and five international agencies: DNA, Amnesia, Neue Digitale, e-Crusade and Duke.

Avenue A|Razorfish's online clients include McDonald's, Coke, Ford, Nike, Visa and, wouldn't you know it, Microsoft. It would represent an entirely new revenue stream to Microsoft, if it keeps it.

Microsoft said the deal would close in the second half and have no significant impact on its financial guidance. The Seattle-based acquisition with its 2,600 people will be part of nearby Microsoft's Online Services Business, which has little product overlap with the newcomer. It will report to Kevin Johnson, head of Microsoft's Platform & Services Division.

Microsoft also has Massive, which puts ads in video games, and is in the process of buying ScreenTonic, a European cell phone advertising company.

AOL just bought Boston-based mobile advertising company Third Screen Media for an unpublished sum for its Advertising.com Internet ad subsidiary. It is supposed to be the biggest such entity in the US where the market is supposed to go from $421 million last year to $4.7 billion in 2011.