The speculation and gossip about DoubleClick’s imminent sale is over. The company announced that it had agreed to be acquired for $1.1 billion by a pair of companies led by San Francisco equity firm Hellman & Friedman.

Investing alongside Hellman & Friedman will be JMI Equity, a San Diego-based venture capital firm exclusively focused on the software and business service industries. Hellman & Friedman and JMI Equity have previously partnered together on a number of software related investments, including Blackbaud, Mitchell International, and Vertafore.

Under the terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter pending shareholder approval, DoubleClick shareholders will receive $8.50 per share. That is slightly less than the current trading price of DoubleClick shares, but about 15 percent more than it has been trading in the recent past. DoubleClick’s stock price closed at $8.57 on Friday.

As predicted by industry watchers, the company’s executive management team will change. DoubleClick chief executive Kevin Ryan will step down. A new board of directors and chairman will be appointed when the deal closes. David Rosenblatt will continue to oversee the TechSolutions division as its CEO, and Brian Rainey will continue to lead the DataSolutions division as its CEO.

Some industry insiders still believe that Hellman & Freidman is looking to break up DoubleClick and sell it off in pieces. That should certainly fuel even more rumors and speculation.

Let me know who you think would benefit from buying the Performics portion of DoubleClick’s business.