AOL has announced plans to buy online behavioral targeting firm TACODA in deal reported to be valued at $275 million, according to a Reuters report.

"The acquisition of Tacoda will build on our advertising momentum, letting us better serve advertisers by enhancing our ability to precisely target advertisements across an even broader network," said Ron Grant, AOL president and COO.

The deal marks the latest acquisition for AOL, which recently acquired Third Screen Media and ADTech AG, as it moves away from the internet access business and into delivering free content supported by ads.

Tacoda Chairman Dave Morgan said the deal means that behaviorally targeted advertising has come of age.

"We've reached a point where the market is really responding," Morgan said. "[With the AOL deal] we got bigger and faster to serve that growing need."

Jim Meskauskas, VP director of online media at ICON International, agreed with Morgan, saying that the deal means behavioral targeting could solve the scale riddle for the interactive space.

"One of the questions posed to online has always been, if spending continues to increase significantly, can standard content placements accommodate it?" Meskauskas said. "Behavioral targeting applied across a vast spectrum of content placements will promote the kind of scale necessary to attract advertisers and the level of spend they are interested in committing to."