The New York Times is reporting that DoubleClick is setting up an auction-based ad exchange, a “mix of eBay and Sabre, the airline reservations system that travel agents use.”

“The service will let advertisers see information about what competitors bid for particular ads, in the same way that eBay shows visitors past bids. And it will let publishers try to ensure that they sell their ad spots at the highest possible price, the way that airlines try to do with the seats they sell.”

The new exchange will likely make DoubleClick more attractive to potential acquirers. Earlier this week, there were reports that Microsoft was looking at acquiring DoubleClick, quickly followed by stories that Google was in talks to buy the company, as well.

Techmeme has discussion about DoubleClick’s new ad exchange.

Related Topics: Search Ads: General

About The Author: Chris Sherman (@CJSherman) is Executive Editor of SearchEngineLand.com and President of Searchwise LLC, a Boulder Colorado based Web consulting firm. He also programs and co-chairs the Search Marketing Expo - SMX conference series. See more articles by Chris Sherman