Secondary Offering
Underwriter
AppLovin Secondary IPO
LUMA congratulates the AppLovin team on their secondary public offering. We are grateful for the opportunity to be part of AppLovin’s IPO and look forward to future successes.
More From Transactions
strategic investment in
Undisclosed
GTCR and Dreamscape strategic investment in Standard Media Index
We’re pleased to announce GTCR, a leading private equity firm founded in 1980, announced today that it has made a strategic investment in Standard Media Index (“SMI” or the “Company”), a leading global advertising intelligence company, through GTCR’s portfolio company Dreamscape, Inc. (“Dreamscape”), a partnership with marketing technology veterans Scott Knoll, David Hahn and Michael Iantosca.
Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. As part of the transaction, SMI’s Chief Executive Officer, James Fennessy, will step down from his current position and will become a member of Dreamscape’s Board of Directors and remain a consultant to the business. Mr. Knoll will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer of SMI, effective immediately.
SMI is a leading provider of advertising data and insights to media marketplace participants. SMI’s innovative platform makes it possible for the marketing industry to have a real-world view into advertising spend, ad revenue, media pricing and future-booked commitments. The Company’s data-driven intelligence approach creates clear, granular and easy-to-use data sets for clients and agency partners to leverage in determining media mix models, competitive share of spend and pricing benchmarks. SMI has office locations in New York, London, Madrid, Sydney and Toronto, providing global data services and insights to markets in 34 countries around the world. In their major markets, SMI captures spend and pricing data that represents more than 95% of all U.S. national brand expenditure.
“SMI’s leading data and ad intelligence products provide clients with real-time information to help drive better strategies around spend, placement and yield optimization,” said Mr. Knoll. “With the proliferation of media channels and ad types, the insights that SMI can help provide are now an essential driver of media strategy. The company’s deep relationships with clients and agency partners are underpinned by its customer-centric approach and its commitment to innovation. The SMI team has built a truly unique offering and, together with our partners at GTCR, we believe there is an opportunity to further advance the platform and drive growth across the business.”
Headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT, Dreamscape was founded in May 2020 as a partnership between Messrs. Knoll, Hahn and Iantosca and GTCR. The partnership’s focus is to acquire companies and assets as part of a strategy to build a leading marketing technology business. The investment in SMI is the second by Dreamscape. Last month it announced an investment in SQAD, a leading advertising research, analytics, and media planning software company.
“We see tremendous upside potential in SMI and its advertising software solutions,” said Craig Bondy, Managing Director and Co-Head of TMT at GTCR. “The Company is well-positioned in the marketing and advertising industry with deep relationships with its partners and customers which have served it well. We believe that our investment, alongside the Dreamscape team, will provide the resources to expand SMI’s current product portfolio to address new markets and create fully integrated solutions for its customers. We are excited to partner with the SMI team and advance its mission.”
The formation of the Dreamscape partnership is part of GTCR’s unique Leaders Strategy™ approach, finding and partnering with management leaders in core domains to identify, acquire and build market-leading companies through transformational acquisitions and organic growth. Messrs. Knoll, Hahn and Iantosca are 20+ year veterans of the technology, marketing and advertising industries. They worked together from 2011 to 2019, most recently as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Revenue Officer, respectively, at Integral Ad Science (“IAS”), a leading marketing technology business that measures media quality to verify and optimize the placement of digital ads through its fraud, viewability, brand safety and optimization capabilities. During this time, they grew IAS from a startup to a global leader in the ad verification industry.
“GTCR has a long track record of investing in the marketing and advertising technology sector and SMI has long been an innovative leader which we have admired for its data intelligence tools,” said Stephen Master, Principal at GTCR. “The opportunity to partner with the SMI team and drive forward its innovation is one that we were incredibly enthusiastic about. We believe that the combination of SMI’s data tools and its culture of delivering for clients is truly exceptional.”
With a vision to bring transparency and efficiency to the media market globally, SMI was co-founded by Sue Fennessy and Jane Ractliffe in 2009 in Australia and moved headquarters to New York in 2011. Fennessy served as Chief Executive Officer until 2016, where she grew a world-class team, built the tech and data infrastructure, which now tracks over $250 billion dollars of annual media spend globally, secured exclusive agreements with the world’s largest media agencies, and oversaw commercial deals with many of the world’s largest media companies. James Fennessy, who had been Chief Commercial Officer, then assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer. Under his leadership, SMI has successfully grown global coverage, revenue, financial market products, and developed a host of innovative media spend and cross-screen pricing solutions, which have turned into market-leading products. These products fuel inventory management, planning and yield optimization, and have become the backbone for media trading for leaders on both the buy and sell side.
“Today is an important milestone for the entire SMI team, our partners and our clients, as we look toward our next stage of growth,” said Mr. Fennessy. “This investment is a culmination of Sue’s vision for SMI and a testament to the dedication and professionalism of the SMI team that has enabled us to transform how transparent ad cost and spend data is used by the industry. The goal of SMI has always been to form strategic relationships with the world’s leading data-driven companies by providing actionable advertising expenditure and pricing data to ultimately help improve decision making. It is through this core mission that we have grown to be a trusted global source of ad intelligence. This partnership with GTCR and Dreamscape is the next step in our journey and we are all very excited at the potential this new venture will deliver for our partners and customers.”
LUMA acted as exclusive financial advisor to GTCR and Dreamscape.
has received investment from
$325,000,000
iSpot.tv has received $325 million investment from Goldman Sachs
We’re pleased to announce iSpot.tv, the real-time cross-platform TV ad measurement company, today announced it has signed an agreement with funds managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management (“Goldman Sachs”) for a $325 million investment.
iSpot, which has raised $58 million since being founded in April 2012, now generates over $100 million in annual recurring revenues. Through its proprietary technologies and extensive collaboration with more than 400 of the largest brands and media networks in the U.S., iSpot’s digital approach to cataloging and measuring TV ads on linear and streaming has earned wide adoption and trust for its speed, scale, precision and actionability. The company’s unique ability to measure full funnel activity enables advertisers to understand the brand impact of ad creative, the business outcomes that happen as a result of exposures and provides second-by-second transparency into TV investments.
“This team has modernized TV measurement and has achieved a lot of groundbreaking innovations for the industry in our first ten years in business,” said Sean Muller, CEO of iSpot. “As we enter our second decade, the investment and support from Goldman Sachs will help fuel the next generation of innovations and accelerate our ability to be the trusted cross-screen currency of choice.”
Goldman Sachs’ acquisition of a significant minority stake comes as iSpot’s utility as a TV currency is gaining adoption. iSpot recently completed 60 currency pilots between NBCUniversal, agency holding companies and brands surrounding the Olympics, Super Bowl and Q1 inventory across NBCU linear and streaming properties. In March, NBCUniversal named iSpot a preferred trading currency for the 2022 Upfront season, and WarnerMedia and Paramount utilized iSpot in a currency pilot for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
“We have been very impressed with iSpot’s world-class data analytics software platform and proprietary systems which have been purpose-built for the increasingly dynamic video measurement space,” said Leonard Seevers, Partner and Head of Media Investment for the Private Equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management. “We are incredibly excited to partner with Sean and the iSpot team to drive long-term growth and value creation together.”
The investment will be deployed to accelerate growth and adoption of real-time, cross-platform TV ad verification, audience measurement and performance metrics for the buy and sell side. That includes scaling engineering and product development, expanding the sales and customer success footprint, continuing to enhance the currencies for the marketplace to transact on for TV and video, and acquiring complementary businesses.
LUMA advised iSpot.tv on the transaction.
strategic investment in
Undisclosed
Dreamscape strategic investment in SQAD
We’re pleased to announce that GTCR, a leading private equity firm founded in 1980, has made a strategic investment in SQAD LLC (“SQAD”), the advertising research, analytics, and media planning software company, through GTCR’s portfolio company Dreamscape, Inc. (“Dreamscape”), a partnership with marketing technology veterans Scott Knoll, David Hahn and Michael Iantosca. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. As part of the transaction, SQAD’s Chief Executive Officer, Marc Krigsman, will step down and Mr. Knoll will assume that position.
SQAD is a provider of dynamic software and data solutions for advertisers, agencies and brands for media planning strategies. These tools, employed by some of the largest advertisers and publishers in the world over the past 40 years, include SQAD’s MediaCosts benchmarking platform, which has processed more than $1 trillion in actual transaction ad costs from advertising systems of record, its MediaTools solution, which provides advertisers with a leading media planning software tool, and its MediaLogic audience analytics research tool. This end-to-end solution allows clients to develop and deploy media strategies across network, local, & cable television, radio, out of home and internet channels that are informed by innovative research, review, planning, management, and reporting insights.
“We are incredibly excited to make this investment in SQAD alongside GTCR,” said Mr. Knoll. “SQAD helps a significant number of the largest advertisers in the world plan their media and we fundamentally believe that this function is critical to the success of these businesses, particularly in a dynamic media landscape. The expertise and resources that Dreamscape and GTCR will bring to this investment will help SQAD innovate and continue to deliver actionable data in all digital formats and buying and selling platforms. Marc and his team have done a great job and we look forward to working with the SQAD team to expand the scope and functionality of its solutions to further help its customers.”
Headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT, Dreamscape was founded in May 2020 as a partnership between Messrs. Knoll, Hahn and Iantosca and GTCR. The partnership’s focus is to acquire companies and assets as part of a strategy to build a leading marketing technology business. The acquisition of SQAD is the first for Dreamscape and it continues to seek opportunities across a wide range of assets in the marketing sector to continue to build its capabilities.
The formation of the Dreamscape partnership is part of GTCR’s unique Leaders Strategy™ approach, finding and partnering with management leaders in core domains to identify, acquire and build market-leading companies through transformational acquisitions and organic growth. Messrs. Knoll, Hahn and Iantosca are 20+ year veterans of the technology, marketing and advertising industries. They worked together from 2011 to 2019, most recently as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Revenue Officer, respectively, at Integral Ad Science (“IAS”), a leading marketing technology business that measures media quality to verify and optimize the placement of digital ads through its fraud, viewability, brand safety and optimization capabilities. During this time, they grew IAS from a startup to a global leader in the ad verification industry.
LUMA acted as exclusive financial advisor to Dreamscape and GTCR.
acquired by
$160,000,000
TVSquared acquired by Innovid
LUMA is pleased to announce that TV Squared Limited (“TVSquared”), an independent global measurement and attribution platform for converged TV, and Innovid, a leading independent connected TV (CTV) advertising delivery and measurement platform, have entered into a definitive agreement in which Innovid will acquire TVSquared in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $160 million.
Innovid aims to provide the most complete view of the total TV and digital universe through a scalable, currency-grade measurement platform. The deal allows Innovid to immediately accelerate and broaden their global scope, as brands, agencies, publishers, and broadcasters on six continents rely on TVSquared to maximize reach, identify the right audiences and drive business growth with TV.
Innovid and TVSquared share complementary visions to transform TV measurement through a comprehensive view of audiences across all devices and platforms worldwide. Joining forces establishes a cross-platform measurement solution that maps one of the largest datasets of audiences, homes, and devices, at scale, across linear, CTV, and digital video.
The combined entity will represent buy- and sell-side customers and process billions of impression events daily. The joint offering will include ad serving, creative personalization and optimization, outcomes and audience measurement, including reach, frequency and unique unduplicated reach, for the total TV and digital universe.
LUMA advised TVSquared on the transaction.
acquired
$1,050,000,000
AppLovin has agreed to acquire MoPub, a wholly-owned business unit of Twitter
LUMA would like to congratulate Adam Foroughi, Herald Chen, Idil Canal, Jordan Satok and the entire AppLovin team on their strategic move – the acquisition of MoPub from Twitter.
Please check out their blog post if you haven’t had the chance to learn more about AppLovin’s plans to deliver even more value to the ecosystem with their software platform: AppLovin Blog.
We are grateful for the opportunity to be part of the transaction and look forward to the continued success of AppLovin, MoPub and their customers through this combination!
acquired by
Undisclosed
Reflektion to be acquired by Sitecore
We’re pleased to announce that Reflektion, an AI-powered digital search platform that understands and predicts patterns, context, and needs in order to convert shoppers into buyers has been acquired by Sitecore®, the global leader in digital experience management software. The combination of Sitecore and Reflektion enables Sitecore to engage, educate, and empower shoppers to make purchase decisions faster – increasing buyer confidence, long-term revenue, and overall customer satisfaction and loyalty.
The acquisition – a continuation of Sitecore’s ongoing $1.2 billion growth plan – will help marketers solve the information overload that is characteristic of traditional search solutions, which leave customers unable to find and select the right product. 93% of all online experiences start with search, making it an integral part of the customer buying journey, and Reflektion elevates search into a conversational, guided experience that provides more personal, accessible, and tailored answers for the customer. Reflektion’s platform can be leveraged across all aspects of the Sitecore digital experience platform, from transforming product data into understandable consumer-friendly language to understanding shopper intent, behavior, and product preferences.
“Search is about more than just entering words into a box and hoping for the right results – it is the cornerstone of a digital experience. With Reflektion, a brand can add various types of search including personalized search, preview search, conversational search, and voice search,” said Steve Tzikakis, CEO at Sitecore. “This reduces customers’ effort and anxiety to find exactly what they need – with more convenience and speed – and leads to increased customer satisfaction with more conversions and revenue. Acquiring Reflektion reinforces Sitecore’s position as the leader in digital experience technologies that meets customers in the moment with more relevant, intuitive, and human experiences.”
Reflektion includes complementary Commerce, AI and personalization capabilities that, alongside Sitecore’s acquisition of Four51, Boxever, and Moosend, offer even more power to seamlessly deliver targeted intelligent, personalized and real-time information across channels.
“Since its inception eight years ago, Reflektion has become recognized for its unique approach to search-product discovery technology. Our technology uses AI to adjust each consumer’s digital experience, in the moment, based on diverse data from multiple channels,” said Amar Chokhawala, CEO & Founder at Reflektion. “I am proud of the passionate team at Reflektion who has been successful in bringing our AI-first approach to many site-search deployments for large e-commerce and retailers’ websites. With Sitecore, the Reflektion team and customers will be able to continue to leverage the enhancement of digital experiences, leading to continued growth and results for all.”
LUMA advised Reflektion on the transaction.
acquired by
$220,000,000
Publica has been acquired by IAS
We are pleased to announce that Integral Ad Science (Nasdaq: IAS), a global leader in digital media quality, announced that it has acquired Publica LLC (“Publica”), the connected TV advertising platform, in a cash and stock deal valued at $220 million. With this acquisition, IAS is accelerating its CTV strategy to help publishers better monetize their video programming across CTV devices, while building new tools to provide advertisers with much-needed transparency into the quality of this inventory.
“CTV viewership and programmatic advertising have skyrocketed, and by acquiring Publica we’re accelerating our growth to offer publishers the tools to capitalize on this opportunity,” said Lisa Utzschneider, CEO, IAS. “Advanced data and technology will fuel the future of addressable CTV advertising. Now video publishers can increase their revenue, and in the future we will help advertisers with a trusted way to measure the results of their growing CTV budgets. In fact, Publica reports that publishers using its platform have seen on average a 30% lift in yield for their CTV inventory. I welcome Ben and the Publica team as we innovate together to increase CTV advertising quality and impact.”
Publica is a leading Connected TV (CTV) ad platform and works with many of the world’s biggest broadcasters, TV manufacturers, and OTT apps. Headquartered in Palo Alto, Publica provides solutions for publishers to maximize revenues across their CTV inventory through key solutions including a Unified Auction, Ad Pod Management, Audience Management, and Server-Side Ad Insertion (SSAI). Publica serves over 3 billion ads on CTV every month. By acquiring Publica, IAS adds a talented team with decades of experience building leading video CTV advertising products, while delivering results for some of the world’s largest publishers. Publica Co-Founder and CEO, Ben Antier, will now report directly to Lisa Utzschneider. The Publica brand will become part of IAS’s product portfolio.
“Audiences have already switched to watching CTV and more ad-supported content than ever; by joining IAS, we’re offering a trusted platform for brands and publishers to drive more ad dollars towards CTV,” said Ben Antier. “We have a joint vision to transform CTV advertising with a data-driven approach that benefits the entire industry, while delivering an exceptional user experience.”
LUMA advised Publica on the transaction.
Initial Public Offering
Underwriter
$160,000,000
Outbrain IPO
LUMA securities, a wholly-owned broker-dealer of the undersigned, acted as underwriting co-manager to Outbrain, Inc.
acquired by
$250,000,000
Chartboost has been acquired by Zynga
Chartboost, a leading mobile programmatic advertising and monetization platform has entered a definitive agreement to be acquired by Zynga Inc., a global leader in interactive entertainment. Along with its talented team, Chartboost brings a global audience of more than 700 million monthly users and more than 90 billion monthly advertising auctions. Together, Zynga and Chartboost possess all the elements of a complete, next generation platform: high-quality content, direct player relationships, massive reach and full-stack advertising technology that can be applied across Zynga’s game portfolio and Chartboost’s advertising partners.
Chartboost is a unified advertising platform that includes a Demand Side Platform (DSP) as well as Supply Side Platform (SSP) and mediation capabilities delivered through an SDK solution. By leveraging advanced machine learning and data science capabilities, Chartboost brings together premium inventory, global scale and audience-based targeting to optimize programmatic advertising and yields.
“Chartboost is one of the most dynamic monetization and discovery platforms in mobile, and we could not be more excited to welcome their talented team to our company,” said Frank Gibeau, Chief Executive Officer of Zynga. “By combining Zynga’s high-quality games portfolio and first-party data with Chartboost’s proven advertising and monetization platform, we will create a new level of audience scale and meaningfully enhance our competitive advantage in the mobile ecosystem.”
We are thrilled to join with Zynga to further build and expand our full stack advertising platform that will serve Zynga and the entire mobile ecosystem,” said Rich Izzo, Chief Executive Officer of Chartboost. “Together, we share a vision of the future where a combined advertising, analytics and content platform will accelerate growth across both of our companies. Zynga already feels like family and an extension of our own company culture.”
LUMA advised Chartboost on the Transaction.
acquired by
Undisclosed
JetFuel has been acquired by Vungle
We’re pleased to announce Vungle, a leading mobile performance marketing platform, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire JetFuel, an influencer marketing platform headquartered in San Francisco. JetFuel enables app developers and other advertisers to scale marketing campaigns across a network of over 15,000 fully-verified influencers, with a combined reach of over 4 billion Instagram followers, 1.5 billion TikTok followers, and 100 million daily Snapchat views.
The global influencer market is expected to be worth $13.8 billion in 2021, up from $1.7 billion in 2016¹, a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 52%. Advertisers continue to invest a larger share of their marketing budget in influencer marketing each year. JetFuel has innovated in this space by automating campaign management and execution, removing the need for the time-consuming manual work that is characteristic of traditional influencer marketing. The company charges advertisers on a cost-per-action (CPA) basis, ensuring that advertisers achieve measurable outcomes with high ROI. JetFuel also empowers influencers to create authentic, custom promotions that drive strong results.
As Vungle continues to expand the breadth of its mobile performance marketing platform, JetFuel enables Vungle to offer advertisers even greater reach in acquiring high-value users and the ability to target the increasingly valuable Gen Z market through engaging, influencer-owned viral content that drives action.
“JetFuel brings strong technical expertise and commercial success in social media and influencer marketing, creating a unique and valuable extension to our performance marketing platform that will empower not only our current customers but the next generation of digital entrepreneurs,” said Jeremy Bondy, CEO of Vungle. “We’ve been in awe of the company’s innovative, market-leading platform and the forward-thinking vision that makes the combination of Vungle and JetFuel so natural.”
“During our conversations, it became clear that there’d be huge benefits to pairing up with an ad tech leader like Vungle. There’s a lot of similarities between our businesses,” said Tim Lenardo, CEO of JetFuel. “Many of the problems we’re solving in influencer marketing now are the problems that they’ve spent the past 10 years solving in mobile. It’s amazing how closely Vungle’s capabilities line up with our product roadmap! Tapping into their expertise will supercharge our development and drive further differentiation in how we can serve our customers.”
LUMA advised JetFuel on the transaction.
equity investment from
Undisclosed
Nanigans Equity Investment from Thrasio
to sell an equity interest to
Undisclosed
Simpli.fi to sell an equity interest to Blackstone
We’re pleased to announce that Simpli.fi, a leader in programmatic advertising and agency management software, has entered into a definitive agreement to sell a significant equity interest to private equity funds managed by Blackstone. Blackstone will join existing investor GTCR, a leading private equity firm, as majority shareholders. The investment, which would be made through Blackstone’s flagship private equity vehicle, values Simpli.fi at approximately $1.5 billion.
Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, Simpli.fi is dedicated to helping media buying organizations perform more effectively and efficiently. Simpli.fi’s full suite of mission-critical workflow and ad buying software enables agencies and media groups to manage their core operations and execute high ROI media spend through digital ad campaigns. Each month, the Company’s innovative CTV and mobile programmatic advertising platform powers more than 120,000 campaigns for 30,000 active advertisers.
GTCR acquired a majority interest in Simpli.fi in 2017 and, alongside co-founders Frost Prioleau and Paul Harrison, has helped build Simpli.fi into a scaled and rapidly growing platform that uniquely serves the needs of independent advertising agencies and local advertisers. The investment from Blackstone is a continuation of its thematic focus on high-quality digital advertising technology platforms and follows its recent investments in Liftoff and Vungle, and will enable Simpli.fi to further accelerate innovation and organic growth initiatives.
Blackstone and GTCR will have equal representation on the Simpli.fi Board of Directors.
LUMA advised Simpli.fi on the transaction.
Initial Public Offering
Underwriter
$2,000,000,000
AppLovin IPO
LUMA would like to congratulate Adam Foroughi and the entire AppLovin team on their public debut. Another impressive milestone in an incredible journey – we couldn’t say it better than Adam, so please check out his blog post if you haven’t had the chance: AppLovin IPO.
We are grateful for the opportunity to be part of AppLovin’s IPO and wish Adam and team the best of luck in their new chapter!
acquired by
$400,000,000
AdColony acquired by Digital Turbine
We are pleased to announce that Otello (OSE: OTELLO) has sold AdColony, an in-app marketplace for brands, to Digital Turbine (Nasdaq: APPS), for a total estimated consideration of $400 million. AdColony is a global leader in mobile game advertising and monetization, with a reach of more than 1.5 billion monthly users globally. AdColony’s mission is to drive business outcomes that matter for advertisers and publishers using its leading mobile technology, high-quality mobile ad experiences and leveraging its curated reach. AdColony is known throughout the mobile industry for its third-party verified viewability rates, exclusive Instant-Play™ and Aurora™ HD video technologies, rich media formats, global performance advertising business, programmatic marketplace, and extensive SDK footprint in the Top 1000 apps worldwide.
Digital Turbine is a global on-device mobile platform company that simplifies content discovery and delivers relevant content directly to consumer devices. Per Digital Turbine’s CEO, Bill Stone, “The ability for Digital Turbine to utilize AdColony’s unique mobile advertising solutions across our vast device distribution footprint unlocks significant new monetization opportunities for the combined company’s platform offerings. With the addition of AdColony, we will expand our collective experience, reach and suite of capabilities to benefit mobile advertisers and publishers around the globe. Performance-based spending trends by large, established brand advertisers present material upside opportunities for platforms with unique technology deployable across exclusive access to inventory.” The transaction is expected to close by the end of March 2021.
LUMA advised Otello on the transaction.
acquired
$1,170,000,000
Magnite acquired SpotX
We are pleased to announce that Magnite, the largest independent sell-side advertising platform, has acquired SpotX from RTL Group for $1.17 billion in cash and stock. SpotX is one of the leading platforms shaping CTV and video advertising globally.
Together, Magnite and SpotX will create the largest independent CTV and video advertising platform in the programmatic marketplace. The combined company will provide better support for sellers, create an alternative to the CTV advertising market’s largest players, and will greatly improve scale and efficiency for buyers.
Magnite’s expanded technical capabilities and teams will offer swift solutions that cater to a broader set of client needs, including sellers that are newer to the world of programmatic and those who have mature, programmatic-only operations. Likewise, the acquisition will make it easier for brands and agencies to buy premium CTV inventory at scale with standard features and a single, addressable pool of audiences.
LUMA believes we will see more deal activity in CTV as strategics default to inorganic growth initiatives in order to timely capitalize on the significant inflection in the sector brought about by the pandemic. Beneficiaries of this accelerated focus are likely to span a variety of companies including media, distribution, monetization, workflow, data and analytics.
LUMA advised Magnite on the transaction.
majority investment in
Undisclosed
Blackstone agrees to acquire majority stake in Liftoff
We are pleased to announce that Liftoff, a global performance-based mobile app marketing optimization platform, has reached a definitive agreement for a majority investment from private equity funds managed by Blackstone (NYSE:BX). This strategic partnership marks a new phase in Liftoff’s continuing mission to develop industry-leading technology and product solutions that help marketers grow their engaged user bases through initial and ongoing engagement efforts. Liftoff partners with mobile app marketers to grow their platforms globally, delivering more than one billion engaging ads each day to high-value users in more than 90 countries and across more than 500,000 mobile publishers. As content consumption increasingly shifts to mobile devices, Liftoff is well positioned to serve the high-growth mobile app ecosystem as a leader in programmatic user acquisition and retention. Blackstone’s investment will enable Liftoff to further accelerate investment priorities, expand its global footprint, and fuel future growth initiatives. LUMA advised Blackstone on the transaction.
acquired
Undisclosed
Vungle has acquired GameRefinery
We are pleased to announce that Vungle, a leading mobile performance advertising platform, has acquired GameRefinery, an industry-leading SaaS mobile gaming analytics company headquartered in Finland. GameRefinery’s Game Intelligence platform provides developers with retention and monetization insights through its cloud-based developer tools for world-class studios such as Zynga, King, Rovio, Ubisoft and more. The company’s deep contextual data sets across 160,000+ gaming apps bring unique and innovative targeting capabilities to Vungle’s platform, helping advertisers deliver contextually relevant campaigns and increase user acquisition performance in today’s privacy-focused, post-IDFA landscape.
GameRefinery also brings image recognition and creative tagging capabilities that will be leveraged by Vungle Creative Labs (VCL). Combining VCL’s extensive experience in cutting-edge creative and UA, with granular reporting on visual elements including styles and genre fit, provides industry-leading performance recommendations for its biggest customers.
Vungle CEO Jeremy Bondy stated, “Together, Vungle, GameRefinery, and Algolift offer the only platform that speaks to game and product teams in the development process, marketing, UA, and growth teams in the scaling stage, and data teams when measuring and refining outcomes.”
LUMA advised Vungle on the transaction.
acquired by
Undisclosed
Parse.ly has been acquired by Automattic
We’re proud to announce that Parse.ly, a top content analytics solution, has been acquired by WPVIP, the leading provider of enterprise WordPress and part of Automattic’s suite of innovative brands. Together, WPVIP and Parse.ly will offer an unparalleled enterprise content management, commerce, and analytics platform — with best-in-class content creation agility and the insights to understand the impact of those digital experiences. The acquisition of Parse.ly augments WPVIP’s content and analytics solutions, by incorporating Parse.ly’s capabilities for real-time content analytics and its personalized recommendation engine. Together, WPVIP and Parse.ly will lead a powerful enterprise ecosystem for an array of global brands including Salesforce, NBA, Condé Nast, Facebook, and Microsoft.
In addition to Parse.ly customers receiving access to the full suite of WPVIP offerings, current WPVIP customers will gain access to added features that allow users to take action on content analytics, dynamic audience segmentation, and AI-driven content recommendations. With the acquisition, WPVIP will provide additional investment, support staff, and development resources to Parse.ly customers. More than 800 combined enterprise customers worldwide will now have access to this expanded set of capabilities, including Spotify, CNN, The Atlantic, and Slack.
LUMA advised Parse.ly on the transaction.
majority investment by
Undisclosed
Alphonso has a majority investment by LG
We are pleased to announce that Alphonso Inc. (Alphonso), a TV data and measurement company, has agreed to a significant investment by LG Electronics (LG), through one of its US subsidiaries, Zenith Electronics LLC. This investment brings together the two TV industry leaders’ technologies and innovations into LG’s smart TV lineup, and gives LG a controlling stake of more than 50 percent.
Alphonso’s combined offerings will enrich consumer services including content recommendations and LG’s own streaming service, LG Channels, to create a robust owned and operated first-screen, cross-device advertising platform with integrated analytics for the smart TV marketplace generally and for LG smart TVs specifically.
This is Alphonso’s first investment round since its Series A financing of $5.6 million in 2017, led by Manifest Investment Partners. Alphonso is being rebranded as LG Ads and will continue to operate as an independent business
under its leadership based in Silicon Valley.
LG Ads will offer connected TV ad inventory on its smart TV platform — as well as TV data for activation, measurement and attribution across CTV, linear TV and digital — on 20 million U.S. smart TV and connected TV devices.
Overall, on a worldwide basis, LG’s smart TV footprint is more than 120 million TV sets.
Current TV set manufacturing partners for LG Ads include LG, Sharp, Hisense, Toshiba, Seiki, Skyworth, TiVo and Sling Media. The company says there are other original TV equipment makers committed to using LG Ads this year.
In addition to exclusive access to connected TV inventory, LG Ads says it will continue to focus on media planners’ efforts to improve reach on linear TV buys, as well as insights into hard-to-reach audiences in using connected TV advertising.
LUMA advised Alphonso on the transaction.
acquired by
Undisclosed
Beeswax has been acquired by Comcast FreeWheel
We are pleased to announce that Beeswax, a SaaS programmatic ad buying platform, has agreed to be acquired by Comcast FreeWheel, a provider of comprehensive ad platforms for publishers, advertisers, and media buyers. Beeswax’s Bidder-as-a-Service™ platform gives brands, media companies, and advertising technology firms greater control, flexibility, and transparency over their programmatic advertising. Beeswax’s complementary capabilities will help expand and accelerate FreeWheel’s current programmatic technologies, improving their clients’ ability to trade inventory with automation. In particular, Beeswax’s bidding technology will allow FreeWheel users to access broader pools of inventory to fulfill complex campaign
requirements. LUMA advised Beeswax on the transaction.
acquired by
$280,000,000
Tapad has agreed to be acquired by Experian
We are pleased to announce that Experian, the global information services company is buying Tapad, a leading provider in digital identity resolution for marketers, from Telenor for approximately $280 million in cash. The acquisition will enhance Experian’s digital offerings for advertisers, agencies and publishers and particularly for Advanced Television, positioning Experian to take advantage of expansion in the market for digital-data advertising. LUMA advised Telenor on the transaction.
acquired by
Undisclosed
Tru Optik has been acquired by TransUnion
We are pleased to announce that Tru Optik, the most relied upon data marketplace and data management platform for connected TV, streaming audio and gaming, has been acquired by TransUnion, a leading global information and insights company. Tru Optik’s patented household graph of more than 80 million U.S. homes enables household-level identity, targeting and measurement across connected TV, smart speakers, gaming consoles and other connected devices. Tru Optik and TransUnion’s complementary capabilities will provide TransUnion’s expanded customer base with the reach, accuracy and transparency missing in current identity and audience development products. Together, Tru Optik and TransUnion will address unmet market needs with a focus on streaming TV/audio as part of an omni-channel identity strategy. The combined offering will provide the depth of consumer intelligence necessary for advertisers to connect people with relevant messages. LUMA advised Tru Optik on the transaction.
merged with
Undisclosed
Factual has merged with Foursquare
We are delighted to share that Factual, a leading provider of location data for marketing, has announced its merger with Foursquare Labs in a stock-for-stock transaction. This combination creates the #1 independent leader in location-based technology and data across audiences, point-of-interest, developer tools, and attribution for global brands, advertisers, publishers, and agencies.
The joining of Foursquare and Factual generated more than $150 million in revenue, in more than 20 global markets, trusted by thousands of companies of all sizes and in various industries, including Microsoft, Uber, Samsung, Snap, Twitter, and more than half of the Fortune 100. Foursquare delivers the stack that powers the location layer of the Internet. The merger establishes the standard in location for the next decade, thereby allowing clients to accelerate the adoption of location technology as a must-have in their day-to-day business operations.
LUMA advised Factual on the transaction.
merged with
$862,000,000*
The Rubicon Project has merged with Telaria Video
We are pleased to announce that The Rubicon Project (NYSE:RUBI) has closed its merger with Telaria (NYSE:TLRA) in a stock-for-stock transaction. The combination will create the world’s largest independent sell-side advertising platform, poised to capture growth in CTV.
Together, Rubicon Project and Telaria will enable thousands of publishers to connect with hundreds of buyers and brands, creating a global, independent alternative to closed players in the ecosystem. In addition, the combined company will be an essential omni-channel partner for buyers across formats, screens and geographies. Both companies bring premium publisher partnerships and unique technical capabilities: Telaria as a leader in CTV, and Rubicon Project as an expert in scaled programmatic operations. LUMA advised Rubicon Project on the transaction.
acquired by
Undisclosed
Evergage has been acquired by Salesforce
We are pleased to announce that Evergage, the market-leading personalization and customer data platform, has been acquired by Salesforce, the global leader in CRM. Evergage’s real-time, cross channel personalization and machine learning capabilities will complement the Salesforce Marketing Cloud’s robust customer data, audience segmentation and engagement platform, enabling companies to deliver more relevant experiences during moments of interaction across the customer journey. LUMA advised Evergage on the transaction.
acquired by
Undisclosed
AI Factory has been acquired by Snap
acquired by
Undisclosed
Nanigans’ Social Advertising Business acquired by Sprinklr
We are pleased to announce that Nanigans, a performance advertising software company, has divested its social advertising business to Sprinklr, a customer experience management platform. Nanigans’ social advertising business includes capabilities ranging from data management and predictive analytics to campaign management and real-time reporting — all across major social channels such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
The acquisition will provide Sprinklr with the expertise and capabilities to manage its currently +$1.5Bn of annualized ad spend across social channels and clients around the globe. Nanigans will continue to invest in its incrementality measurement and optimization business lines. LUMA advised Nanigans on the transaction.
acquired by
Undisclosed
clypd acquired by AT&T
We’re delighted to share that clypd, a leading advertising platform for broadcast and cable TV networks, has been acquired by AT&T’s Xandr advertising business unit. The acquisition will enhance the Xandr Monetize platform to connect ad buyers to premium inventory on WarnerMedia, Xandr’s Community marketplace and other premium content providers.
With this and other strategic transactions recently announced, we anticipate more CTV deal activity as large platform companies build their capabilities across linear, addressable, OTT and digital in anticipation of a changing TV marketplace.
acquired by
Undisclosed
SafeDK acquired by AppLovin
We are excited to share that SafeDK, a leading SDK management solution that ensures ad quality, performance and stability in mobile apps, has been acquired by AppLovin, a comprehensive mobile gaming platform. The acquisition will further AppLovin’s mission to help mobile game developers grow and protect their businesses, by helping secure and control third-party SDKs to ensure brand safety.
SafeDK is headquartered in Herzliya, Israel, and will become AppLovin’s first office in Israel. SafeDK co-founders Orly Shoavi and Ronnie Sternberg will remain heads of SafeDK and will become co-general managers of AppLovin Israel.
acquired by
Undisclosed
Return Path acquired by Validity
We are pleased to announce that Return Path, the market leader in email deliverability software, has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Validity, a leader in customer data quality. Return Path’s suite of cloud-based email campaign optimization and message deliverability products, combined with 20+ years of expertise in email marketing, will further accelerate Validity’s vision of providing the most comprehensive technology solutions for sales and digital marketing professionals to manage their customer data. LUMA advised Return Path on the pending transaction.
Secondary Public Offering
Underwriter
$192,000,000
Cision Secondary Public Offering
LUMA Securities, a wholly-owned broker-dealer of LUMA, acted as co-managing underwriter of the Cision public secondary offering.
acquired by
Undisclosed
Tune Attribution Analytics acquired by Branch
We are excited to announce that TUNE’s Attribution Analytics platform, which provides advanced mobile measurement to many of the world’s largest and best-known Fortune 100 organizations, has been acquired by Branch, a leading cross-platform linking and measurement company. TUNE’s mobile attribution expertise will be combined with Branch’s deep-linking and measurement solutions to provide a unified approach to creating and measuring cross-platform experiences that span today’s complex digital marketing ecosystem. LUMA advised TUNE on the transaction.
acquired by
Undisclosed
Max acquired by AppLovin
We are excited to announce that MAX, a leading in-app header bidding provider founded by the team that brought programmatic to mobile, has been acquired by AppLovin, a comprehensive mobile gaming platform. The acquisition will further accelerate AppLovin’s mission to give game developers a complete solution to grow and scale their businesses with a platform that brings new efficiencies and revenue opportunities to mobile publishers by providing access to all buyers in the marketplace. LUMA advised MAX on the transaction.
acquired by
$117,300,000
Videology acquired by Amobee
Amobee, a subsidiary of Singtel, acquired certain assets of Videology, a leading software provider for advanced TV and video advertising for $117.3 million. The company initiated the process in May 2018 after receiving a stalking horse bid of $45 million from Amobee and on July 13, 2018, an auction was conducted, and Amobee emerged as the winning bidder.
financing led by
$37,000,000
BounceX has completed financing by Battery Ventures
We are excited to announce that BounceX has completed a financing led by Battery Ventures. LUMA advised BounceX on the transaction.
acquired by
$90,000,000
Aerserv acquired by InMobi
We are excited to announce that AerServ has been acquired by InMobi to enhance monetization for publishers globally and further enhance the InMobi Exchange, a premium mobile programmatic platform. LUMA advised AerServ on the transaction.
investment by
$1,400,000,000
AppLovin investment by Orient Hontai Capital
acquired by
Undisclosed
Simpli.fi acquired by GTCR
“LUMA advised Simpli.fi on the transaction. Simpli.fi, the programmatic advertising platform that delivers localization and personalization at scale, has agreed to sell a majority stake to GTCR, a leading private equity firm.”
acquired by
$50,000,000
Flashstock acquired by Shutterstock
LUMA advised Flashstock on its sale to Shutterstock (NYSE: SSTK). By acquiring Flashstock, Shutterstock will be able to provide high-quality, custom content to its 1.7 million customers.
acquired by
Undisclosed
Moat acquired by Oracle
LUMA advised Moat on its sale to Oracle (NYSE: ORCL). Through this acquisition, Moat will join Oracle Data Cloud and connect data to consumer attention for better media experiences and business outcomes.
acquired by
$310,000,000
Turn acquired by Amobee
LUMA advised Turn on its sale to Amobee, a subsidiary of Singtel (SGX: Z74). Through the acquisition, Turn will expand Amobee’s programmatic and data management capabilities.
Initial Public Offering
Underwriter
$3,400,000,000
Snap Inc. IPO
LUMA Securities, a wholly-owned broker dealer of LUMA, acted as co-managing underwriter of the Snap Inc. initial public offering.
acquired by
Undisclosed
Adelphic acquired by Time, Inc.
LUMA advised Adelphic on its sale to Viant, a subsidiary of Time, Inc. (NYSE: TIME). Adelphic will help bolster Viant’s people-based marketing platform by providing self-service media planning and execution tools across all screens and formats.
acquired by
Undisclosed
INVIDI acquired by ATT, Dish & WPP
LUMA advised INVIDI on its sale to AT&T (NYSE: T), DISH (NASDAQ: DISH) and WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY). INVIDI will continue operating independently under the three companies’ collective ownership, and AT&T will hold a controlling interest in the venture.
acquired by
Undisclosed
Operative acquired by Sintec Media
LUMA advised Operative on its sale to Sintec Media, a portfolio company of Francisco Partners. The combined company brings together TV and digital ad management for media companies and publishers worldwide.
acquired by
$250,000,000
HookLogic acquired by Criteo
LUMA advised HookLogic on its sale to Criteo (NASDAQ: CRTO). By acquiring HookLogic, Criteo will be able to bolster its commerce-focused, performance marketing platform and strengthen its relationships with brand manufacturers and retailers.
acquired by
Undisclosed
TinyCo acquired by SGN
LUMA represented TinyCo in the transaction and is thrilled to announce it’s first gaming deal, building upon Dick and Mark’s experience advising several leading companies in the sector. Suli Ali, TinyCo’s founder & CEO and his 125-person team will help SGN expand into builder and simulation games and strengthen its position as a mobile gaming entertainment franchise, with TinyCo’s demonstrated ability to launch successful games incorporating IP from the world’s biggest brands.
acquired by
$56,000,000
Smartclip acquired by RTL Group
LUMA advised Smartclip, a Germany-based digital video advertising company, on its sale to RTL Group (EBR: RTL). With the acquisition of Smartclip, RTL Group broadens its digital advertising capabilities by adding Smartclip’s digital video and connected TV solutions.
acquired by
$360,000,000
Tapad acquired by Telenor
LUMA advised Tapad, an industry leading cross-device marketing technology company, on its sale to Telenor Group (STO: TELO). By acquiring Tapad, Telenor will be able to amplify the digital capabilities and services of its core telecom business.
acquired by
$450,000,000
MarketShare acquired by Neustar
LUMA advised MarketShare, a leading marketing analytics company, on its sale to Neustar (NYSE: NSR). With the acquisition, Neustar will gain access to the MarketShare’s expertise in marketing planning and cross-channel attribution.
acquired by
$240,000,000
Millennial Media acquired by AOL
LUMA advised Millennial Media (NYSE: MM), a market leading mobile advertising platform, on its sale to AOL, a division of Verizon Wireless. The combination will provide AOL with significant mobile programmatic capabilities and scale to include in its ONE platform, creating the largest open, mobile-first programmatic platform in the market.
acquired by
$175,000,000
Unruly acquired by News Corp
LUMA advised Unruly Holdings Limited, a leading social video advertising platform, on its sale to News Corporation. With the acquisition of Unruly, News Corp will gain access to Unruly’s expertise in video distribution, unique advertising platform, and experienced technical team.
merged with
Undisclosed
MyBuys merged with Magnetic
LUMA advised MyBuys, a leader in multi-channel marketing and personalization, on its merger with Magnetic. With the merger, the combined entity, Magnetic, will bring marketing and advertising technology together, allowing marketers to target consumers through the purchase journey across devices, channels, and buying stages.
acquired by
$110,000,000
Yieldex acquired by AppNexus
LUMA advised Yieldex, a market leader in publisher forecasting and analytics tools, on its sale to AppNexus. The combination will enable AppNexus to offer an integrated, full-stack solution to publishers and grow its traction in the programmatic direct market.
acquired
$108,000,000
Millennial Media acquired Nexage, Inc.
LUMA advised Millennial Media, a leading mobile advertising company, on its acquisition of Nexage, Inc., a leading provider of Real-Time-Bidding (RTB) technology that helps to automate the buying and selling of mobile advertising. The deal will enable Millennial Media to expand its mobile advertising solutions and build a full-stack solution by bringing Nexage’s programmatic solutions in house, creating the largest independent mobile advertising platform.
acquired by
Undisclosed
iSocket acquired by Rubicon Project
LUMA advised iSocket, a leader in programmatic direct advertising solutions, on its sale to Rubicon Project. The combination will enable Rubicon Project to accelerate the growth of the automated guaranteed market, which eMarketer forecasts will exceed $8 billion by 2016.
acquired by
$240,000,000
[x+1] acquired by Rocket Fuel
LUMA advised [x+1], Inc., a leading provider of programmatic marketing and data management solutions, on its sale to Rocket Fuel, a provider of artificial intelligence (AI) advertising solutions for digital marketers. The deal will enable Rocket Fuel to expand its portfolio of solutions to a larger addressable market and combine resources with [x+1] to drive innovative opportunities to improve customer ROI.
acquired by
$230,000,000
Adconion Direct acquired by SingTel
LUMA advised Adconion Media Group on its sale of Adconion Direct, a cross-channel digital advertising platform that serves Fortune 500 brands in the United States and Australia, to Amobee, a subsidiary of SingTel. The deal will enable Amobee to provide one cohesive solution across all channels and screens for global brands, as well as strengthen its position as the leading provider of mobile-led solutions.
Initial Public Offering
Underwriter
$116,799,660
The Rubicon Project IPO
LUMA Securities, a wholly-owned broker dealer of LUMA, acted as co-managing underwriter of The Rubicon Project initial public offering.
acquired by
$65,000,000
Rhythm NewMedia acquired by Blinkx
LUMA advised Rhythm NewMedia Inc., a leader in mobile video advertising, on its acquisition by blinkx PLC (LON:BLNX), a leading video monetization and syndication company. The deal will enable blinkx to accelerate the growth of its mobile video advertising business, the fastest growing segment within online advertising, and expand the scope of its solutions for brand advertisers.
acquired by
$119,000,000
Aggregate Knowledge acquired by Neustar
LUMA advised Aggregate Knowledge (AK) on its acquisition by Neustar. This deal will enable Neustar to continue to build out its marketer workflow solutions by leveraging the offline and online audience segmentation and targeting capabilities of its AdAdvisor business with AK’s real-time media analytics, optimization and attribution in the digital channel.
Initial Public Offering
Underwriter
$116,000,000
Rocket Fuel IPO
LUMA Securities, a wholly-owned broker dealer of LUMA, acted as co-managing underwriter of the Rocket Fuel, Inc. initial public offering.
financing led by
$38,000,000
MarketShare financing led by FTV Capital
LUMA advised MarketShare on its $38 million investment led by FTV Capital, along with Elevation Partners. The capital will be used to further enhance MarketShare’s state-of-the-art technology platform and accelerate growth in markets worldwide.
Eric Byunn, a Partner with FTV Capital, will join MarketShare’s Board. Eric said that FTV is “highly enthusiastic about the advanced analytics capabilities MarketShare’s platform delivers. Enterprises in the FTV Global Partner Network, including some of the largest US financial institutions, have validated that MarketShare has built an essential navigation solution for CMOs.”
acquired by
Undisclosed
Akamai’s ADS Cooperative Data Solutions acquired by MediaMath
LUMA advised Akamai on the divestiture of its Advertising Decision Solutions (ADS) data cooperative business by MediaMath. The data cooperative will bolster MediaMath’s industry-leading Data Management Platform (DMP). As part of the transaction, the companies have forged a multi-year relationship whereby MediaMath will have exclusive rights to leverage Akamai’s pixel-free technology for use within digital advertising and marketing applications. As a result of the pixel-free technology partnership, MediaMath’s clients will gain access to more data for audience segmentation, retargeting, and optimization, with quick and easy activation.
acquired by
$180,000,000
Ziff Davis acquired by j2 Global
LUMA advised Ziff Davis on its acquisition by j2 Global. The acquisition provides j2 a series of world-class web properties, including PCMag.com, ComputerShopper, ExtremeTech, Toolbox.com and Geek.com. The purchase price was approximately $167 million, net of certain post-closing adjustments, and was funded out of j2’s cash on hand. The transaction is anticipated to be immediately accretive and to contribute approximately $60 million to 2013 revenues.
acquired by
Undisclosed
Brand.net acquired by Valassis
LUMA advised Brand.net on its acquisition by Valassis. With the acquisition of Brand.net, the Valassis Audience Network will now be able to empower advertisers to reach and influence consumers throughout the entire purchase funnel with greater relevance, impact and results.
merged with
$750,000,000
Donovan Data Systems merged with MediaBank
LUMA advised Donovan Data Systems on its announced merger with MediaBank. The two entities will form MediaOcean and build an operating system for advertising. This universal OS with its open APIs will allow other companies with innovative technologies in media or data to plug in and benefit from the efficiency of a unified system.
acquired by
$220,000,000
Interclick acquired by Yahoo!
LUMA advised interclick on its acquisition by Yahoo! Yahoo! will leverage interclick’s scalable technology platform to optimize inventory monetization using audience data.
acquired by
$400,000,000
Admeld acquired by Google
LUMA advised Admeld, a leading sell side platform, in its acquisition by Google. With this transaction, Google will extend its presence in the fiercely competitive digital advertising ecosystem with capabilities geared towards premium publishers.
acquired by
Undisclosed
Tumri acquired by Collective
LUMA advised Tumri on its acquisition by Collective. Collective will leverage Tumri’s leading dynamic creative optimization technology to power a remarketing business targeting brand advertisers.
acquired
Undisclosed
MarketShare acquired MarketingNPV
LUMA advised MarketShare, the marketing analytics industry leader, in its acquisition of MarketingNPV. This transaction will enable MarketShare to offer innovative capabilities to benchmark, visualize and improve marketing performance.
acquired by
$58,000,000
Demdex acquired by Adobe
LUMA initially discussed a data management platform (DMP) strategy with Adobe and subsequently represented Demdex in the transaction. Demdex now anchors Adobe’s data management strategy, enabling its customers to fully leverage the rich data captured in its market-leading web analytics product, SiteCatalyst.
acquired by
$55,000,000
Dapper acquired by Yahoo
LUMA discussed various strategic options with Yahoo and subsequently represented Dapper in the transaction. Dapper technology now power’s Yahoo’s Smart Ads program, including Smart Ads for Homepage.
financing led by
Undisclosed
Travel Ad Network financing led by StarVest Partners
LUMA advised Travel Ad Network (TAN) in its $15 million Series C financing, which was completed at a prior firm. The round was led by StarVest Partners, with participation by existing investors Rho Ventures and Village Ventures. The proceeds will be utilized to acquire new travel sites, content and tools, as well as increasing TAN’s technology infrastructure and ad sales/operational staff.
acquired
Undisclosed
MarketShare acquired Jovian Data
MarketShare, the marketing analytics industry leader, acquired JovianDATA, a marketing business intelligence and data analytics technology firm. The acquisition enabled MarketShare to automate and streamline its data processing and analytics, allowing faster information flow to its clients. LUMA advised MarketShare in the acquisition.
acquired by
Undisclosed
Ziff Davis Media acquired by Great Hill Partners
Ziff Davis Media, a leading technology publisher, was acquired by Vivek Shah and Great Hill Partners. The acquisition was the first step in Mr. Shah and Great Hill’s strategy to build a digital media company geared towards helping consumers with their buying decisions. LUMA represented Ziff Davis in the transaction while at a prior firm. Mr. Shah currently sits on the LUMA Advisory Board.
acquired by
$81,000,000
Invite Media acquired by Google
LUMA professionals initially discussed a demand side platform (DSP) acquisition strategy with Google and subsequently represented Invite Media in its sale to Google. We helped negotiate the transaction terms and guided the discussions towards a successful outcome (completing the transaction at a prior firm). Nat Turner, former CEO of Invite Media, sat on the LUMA Board of Advisors.