Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt and DoubleClick CEO David Rosenblatt were those among those on a conference call (full audio for streaming and download below), explaining the $3.1 billion acquisition to investors and journalists. Schmidt’s brief opening remarks highlighted the perceived value of using one console for search and displayed and promised more innovations. He also talked about privacy—“We at Google are very committed to preserving people’s privacy; DoubleClick will help us do that.”—and user benefits from more targeted ads. The call quickly moved to q-and-a. Some running highlights:

Too much power for Google?: Schmidt : There are many choices. “Among the choices this was the best fit. We don’t see the concern you raised as one we’re very worried about.”

Why this much and why in cash?: Schmidt: “We felt we could afford the price and it’s a very good deal for google and our shareholders.”

Why DoubleClick?: Schmidt and others mentioned the two have been partners for a long time and there’s a lot of overlap on advertisers. Schmidt also said that display had taken on more importance in the past year.

Ad Exchange: DoubleClick just launched its Ad Exchange—It’s a little early to comment on it.

Integration: Asked about handling the complex integration, Rosenblatt said “integrations go a lot more smoothly when there’s a shared vision.” The two are in the same NYC building and a number of people at each company have worked at the other.”

Importance of display ads: When I asked why display advertising had taken on greater importance in the last year, Sergey Brin said, “We’ve though display advertising has been important for several years.” He mentioned several Google efforts in display but—to paraphrase—nothing on the scale of DoubleClick. He said “we’ve had a lot to keep us busy in search and search advertising” ... that remains important but “we can now afford” to give more attention to display.

The call ran about 30-35 minutes with Schmidt acknowledging the brief time between announcement and call. They wanted to get it out as soon as it was approved by the board and signed, he said. Of course, that allows Google to better control the message than if it continued to seep out over the next few days. I’ll have more from the call as I go through my notes.

You can stream the audio of the conference call below, or download the MP3 from here.