Facebook buys Atlas as part of bid for more effective advertising

In making the deal announced Thursday, Facebook is betting the acquired technology will be more fruitful under new ownership than it was during the past 5 1/2 years under Microsoft's control. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Atlas is part of an online advertising service called aQuantive, which Microsoft Corp. bought for US$6.3 billion in 2007. Aquantive didn't bring in as much online ad revenue as Microsoft envisioned, prompting the software maker to absorb a US$6.2 billion charge last year that resulted in its first quarterly loss in its 26-year history as a public company.

Given the magnitude of that write-down, Facebook probably didn't have to pay much to take Atlas off Microsoft's hands. The undisclosed purchase price is a sign that the amount isn't substantial enough to leave a big dent in the company's finances.

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