Google Snaps Up YouTube in All Stock Deal

Google announced on Monday a $1.65 billion dollar deal to acquire YouTube just hours after the company announced three separate deals to protect against the threat of copyright-infringement lawsuits.

YouTube, which in the middle of 2005 was not even ranked among the top 100,000 websites, enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past year to become one of the top visited websites in the world. Google's purcahse of YouTube marks the largest single investment yet by the cash rich company.

The two companies have been competing in the online video market with YouTube developing as the clear winner. Though there have been widespread concerns about YouTube's ability to defend itself against potential copyright suits, the company announced partnerships with Universal Music Group, CBS Corp. and Sony BMG Music Entertainment just prior to the Google acquisition.

According to Chad Hurley, co-founder and CEO of YouTube which will retain its brand and all 67 employees, "I'm confident that with this partnership we'll have the flexibility and resources needed to pursue our goal of building the next-generation platform for serving media worldwide,"

Source: MSNBC.com