CBS announced Thursday it will buy CNET Networks for US$1.8 billion in cash, thus marking its largest online growth since hiring former media and technology investment banker Quincy Smith to run its interactive unit in 2006, the International Herald Tribune reported.

CNET, whose assets contain a popular technology-news Web site, was attempting to fight off a group of activist investors looking to gain power over its board of directors.

“We are not going to spend $1.6 billion on YouTube, we are looking for the next YouTube and Quincy knows all the players,” said Leslie Moonves, chief executive of CBS, in reference to the video-sharing site that Google had recently purchased, the IHT reported.

Now it looks as if Moonves decided that CBS need to spend at least that amount in order to build its Internet existence as well as make it appealing to advertisers, the IHT reported.

“There are very few opportunities to acquire a profitable, growing, well-managed Internet company like CNET Networks. Together, CBS and CNET Networks will have significant additional exposure to the fastest-growing advertising sector and can accelerate our growth through a number of new content, promotion and advertising initiatives,” Moonves said Thursday, according to the IHT.

CBS stated it would pay $11.50 for every CNET share, a considerable 45 percent premium where the stock closed Wednesday.

Within the last year or so, CBS has chosen smaller Web properties, including a music site for which it paid $280 million. However, the $1.8 billion for CNET is the largest in its recent Internet growth.