Google’s Final Price Tag for Invite Media: $81 Million

Quick item of interest to ad-tech players: The final price tag for Google’s acquisition of Invite Media.

The search giant paid $81 million cash for the demand-side platform, sources familiar with the transaction tell me. That’s above the $70 million range I estimated last week, but it’s obviously trivial for Google (GOOG).

I’ve heard grousing from some people in the ad-technology industry who had hoped that Invite would fetch more, because the deal will likely set a cap for other DSP purchases, if there are any.

But while some of Invite’s rivals have hoovered up significant capital, investors put less than $5 million into the start-up during its three-year lifespan. So that’s a very nice return for people like First Round Capital and Comcast’s (CMCSA) venture arm.

And it’s a very nice parable for start-ups about timing: Last summer, Invite was looking at an offer from Omniture (OMTR) that valued the company at less than $20 million.

No comment from Google.