DoubleClick wants to become the eBay for online ads

The New York Times is reporting that DoubleClick is about to launch an auction-based model for online advertising. The new DoubleClick advertising exchange will bring Web publishers and advertising buyers together on a Web site where they can participate in auctions for ad space.  I have watched DoubleClick grow (why didn't I take that job in 1997!?!) and shrink and now they appear upward-bound again.

There has been a lot of speculation in the past week about whether DoubleClick will be acquired by the likes of Google, Yahoo or Microsoft.

From the Times piece:

“Whoever gets them can immediately turn into an ad exchange business overnight,” said Dave Morgan, chief executive of Tacoda, an online advertising network. “Two billion dollars will not be a stretch for that.”

DoubleClick, based in New York, views the exchange as the centerpiece of a growth plan and may derive the majority of revenue from the new service within five years, said David Rosenblatt, the company’s chief executive, said in an interview yesterday. “We already have the largest sellers and the largest buyers,” he said. “This will link them for the first time.”

Could a Yahoo-DoubleClick merger give the combined company the strength to battle Google? I am not sure it makes sense for Microsoft and their long-term plans. Assuming no purchase, DoubleClick steps back into the spotlight for online advertising. They have large clients such as AOL and MySpace and now they can grow the small-medium side of the business.