Shareholders of online advertising company aQuantive Inc. approved a buyout offer from Microsoft Corp. at a meeting in downtown Seattle Thursday.

More than 58 million shares were voted to approve the deal, out of approximately 79 million shares outstanding. Fewer than 20 shareholders attended the meeting in person.

In May, Microsoft offered $6 billion or $66.50 per share for the company, which includes the Avenue A/Razorfish ad agency, plus networks for publishers and marketers to buy and sell online advertising. The shareholder vote was one of the last hurdles before the deal can be completed.

AQuantive also said Thursday that its second-quarter profit dropped 22 percent from a year ago, missing Wall Street's expectations.

AQuantive's shares were unchanged at $66.39 in afternoon trading.

Microsoft, Buy, Deal, Acquisitions, aQuantive, Advertising Company, Corporate News

Source:? Seattle Post-Intelligencer