Mobile ad company Millennial Media has snapped up real-time bidding firm Nexage for $107.5m.
The acquisition follows Baltimore-based Millennial Media’s acquisition of ad tech company Jumptap in August in a deal that was worth more than $200m at the time.
Nexage had raised $24 million in funding, suggesting the acquisition is potentially a modest win for investors and other shareholders, such as employees. Backers include GrandBanks Capital, Relay Ventures, and SingTel Group’s venture capital arm, SingTel Innov8.
Millennial Media will pay approximately $22.5 million in cash and approximately $85 million in stock, according to the announcement of the deal. The company’s shares, however, have been falling steadily in recent months (they’re trading at less than $2 today).
“We are in a very exciting time right now as we help to build, educate and advance the role of RTB and programmatic solutions to advertisers, publishers, and developers,” said Michael Barrett, President and CEO of Millennial Media. “Our vision is to create a full-stack solution that enables us to open the flow of impressions, operate a leading independent exchange, and maximize the yield for our publishers. The opportunity to integrate Nexage’s programmatic technology with our deep roots and heritage in agency relationships will uniquely position us in this fast paced ecosystem. Together, our companies will be able to offer managed services for agencies and a complete set of programmatic tools for automated buyers. We are looking forward to having the Nexage team join our family as we continue to build the next generation of mobile advertising.”
“Millennial Media is an extremely well known name in our industry, and a real pioneer and leader in bringing brand dollars into mobile,” said Ernie Cormier, President and CEO of Nexage. “I believe the addition of Nexage’s platform and people will further Millennial Media’s mission in creating a leading independent mobile advertising platform and vital programmatic marketplace.”
www.nexage.com