Microsoft has gobbled up YaData, an online advertising targeting company based in Tel Aviv, Israel, the companies said Wednesday.

YaData makes behavioral tools to slice and dice audiences to make online advertising more effective.

Three-year-old YaData was funded by Giza Venture Capital and Ofer Hi-Tech. U.S. business software maker Oracle also provided a seed round worth less than $1 million. Financial terms were not disclosed, but Israeli business newspaper Globes cited unnamed sources who estimated the purchase price at $20 million to $30 million.

YaData employees will be folded into Microsoft's research and development unit in Herzliya, Israel.

The deal comes amid questions about how Microsoft would merge the online advertising platform of Yahoo should it succeed in its proposed $44.6 billion cash and stock acquisition.

YaData and Microsoft executives did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

YaData offers tools to let advertisers slice, analyze and monitor subsections of their audiences. The company has focused on the telecommunications, banking, insurance and credit card industries.

“Microsoft has the resources to unlock the potential in YaData’s technology and create

a truly innovative online advertising solution," Amir Peleg, chief executive of YaData, said in a news release announcing the deal.

YaData technology will be incorporated into Microsoft's Advertiser and Publisher Solutions group.

"The purchase of YaData brings the Israeli R&D center into the field of online advertising,

which is undoubtedly one of Microsoft’s most strategic fields,” Moshe Lichtman, president

of the Microsoft Israel R&D Center, said in the same news release.