IBM’s purchase of three agencies in six days on behalf of its in-house agency Interactive Experience (iX) is uncharacteristic since iX hasn’t been acquisitive in its almost two-decade history. The first purchase, last Thursday, was Resource/Ammirati, known for brand building. IBM then acquired digital agency Aperto on Tuesday and design agency Ecx.io on Wednesday; both […]
If 2014 was a year of big buys in ad tech, 2015 seemed more muted. While 2014 saw a run on attribution companies from big players like Google and AOL, massive consolidation among data management platforms and some big splashes from Oracle and Alliance Data Services, 2015 was about the quiet private equity exit. Sure, […]
EBay has confirmed plans to sell eBay Enterprise, its enterprise commerce and marketing services business, to a handful of equity and commerce firms for $925 million, one day before it spins off PayPal as a standalone entity. The divestiture creates a new standalone commerce and marketing tech company. Marketing components within the eBay Enterprise stack […]
Private equity firm Vector Capital has acquired Triton Digital, a digital audio firm whose proprietary tech connects audio supply to advertising demand. The deal closed Monday morning for an undisclosed sum. Triton Digital has been building out its nascent programmatic business through SaaS solutions designed for publishers and advertisers since 2006. The company has a […]
Russ Fradin’s been around the ad tech block. He sold his self-serve ad network startup Adify, since shuttered, to Cox Enterprises back in 2008; he’s on the board at both TubeMogul and comScore; and he served as EVP of corporate development at comScore for four years, starting in 2000, when the then newly launched online […]
Merkle’s been busy. Since 2011, the privately held CRM and database marketing agency has been on an acquisition roll: Brilig (data exchange); 5th Finger (responsive design); Social Amp (social commerce); IMPAQT (search engine marketing); New Control (digital and direct marketing agency services); and, most recently in July, RKG (search). It’s all part of what Merkle […]
French holding company Publicis Groupe acquired software and consulting firm Crown Partners on Tuesday and intends to align it with digital agency Razorfish. The purchase is a play to power up Razorfish’s ecommerce capabilities, especially as businesses that haven’t traditionally had strong online presences seek to remedy that situation. “Everyone wants to have an ecommerce capability today, even […]
It’s been a busy third quarter on the mergers and acquisitions front. Yahoo has been the most active acquirer of online and mobile companies in 2013, closing seven deals in the third quarter alone. A vast majority of its recent deals were in the mobile and social space, including AdMovate, Hitpost and Rockmelt. Other notable […]
Ziff Davis’ acquisition of tech blog network NetShelter is part of a continuing strategy to expand its vertical content for IT pros and young men. Ziff Davis has been a serial acquirer since former Time Inc. digital chief Vivek Shah took over the company as CEO nearly three years ago, with investment assistance from PE firm Great Hill […]
The first quarter of 2013 was marked by some notable acquisitions—Google acquired Channel Intelligence; Twitter snapped up Bluefin Labs and Facebook agreed to buy Microsoft’s Atlas DMT. Merger and acquisition activities for marketing and other sectors have generally cooled down, however, according to a new report from The Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc. (JEGI), an investment bank […]
