Google Acquires YouTube
WEB search leader Google has agreed to acquire top video entertainment site YouTube for $US1.65 billion ($2.22 billion) in stock, putting a lofty new value on consumer-generated media sites.
The deal, the first to value one of the new crop of user-participation websites at more than $US1 billion, combines two of the most popular Internet brands: Google, synonymous with web search and rapid innovation, and YouTube, a Silicon Valley upstart that has spearheaded the video-sharing craze.
Google said this morning that YouTube would continue to operate independently to preserve its successful brand and passionate community.
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