Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is pretty good at getting the word out, but it's about to get even better. TechCrunch is reporting that the search engine leader is set to acquire syndicating star FeedBurner for around $100 million.
No, Google hasn't confirmed the deal, but TechCrunch is usually pretty good about staying one step ahead of the press releases. Besides, the founder of FeedBurner just happens to be a former TechCrunch editor.
It's easy to see why Google would be smitten by the site. FeedBurner is an enabler of Really Simple Syndication (RSS), pushing blog, video, and podcast content of willing contributors to subscribers. Currently, FeedBurner services more than 422,000 publishers.
With more and more Internet users turning to Web feed readers to see when their favorite sites have been updated, syndication enablers like FeedBurner are well-positioned to thrive in the future.
Whether FeedBurner ultimately aids Google's own fledgling Google Reader service or is a shrewd move to keep FeedBurner out of the hands of rivals Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) or Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), it's a timely investment in one of the Internet's fastest-growing companies.
Google may be three time zones away from New York, but it's about to start spreading the news.
Yahoo! is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor newsletter pick. Microsoft is an Inside Value recommendation. Try sampling any or all of the newsletters with a free 30-day trial subscription. That's one way to "feed" your "burn"-ing sensation for better stocks.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz is a huge fan of Google, and it would be his homepage if it weren't for Fool.com taking up that piece of real estate. He does not own shares in any of the stocks in this story. Rick is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. The Fool has a disclosure policy.
