"Our community has played a vital role in changing the way that people consume media, creating a new clip culture. Together, we are natural partners to offer a compelling media entertainment service to users, content owners and advertisers." "Our companies share similar values we both always put our users first and are committed to innovating to improve their experience. "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.
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 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. Following the acquisition, YouTube will operate independently to preserve its successful brand and passionate community.
(NASDAQ: GOOG) 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. Combination Will Create New Opportunities for Users and Content Owners Everywhere