Ad technology company Sizmek today announced it has entered into a definitive acquisition agreement with Rocket Fuel, a predictive marketing platform, will offer $2.60 per share in cash for Rocket Value, which represents an enterprise value for Rocket Fuel of approximately $145 million. Sizmek’s side of the deal will be backed by Vector Capital, a private equity firm that acquired Sizmek last year for $126 million.
Rocket Fuel having been banging the AI/machine learning drum in recent years as they use the technology to anticipate and optimise consumer response to messaging.
The merging the two technology stacks will make the new offering considerably more compelling when it comes to competing against companies like DoubleClick and AppNexus. Whilst Sizmek have had a mobile-only DSP since the acquisition of StrikeAd for $11.7 million in 2015, the offering was limited. Joining forces with Rocket Fuel will allow the companies to exploit Sizmek’s ad serving and dynamic creative strengths alongside Rocket Fuel’s bidding technology.
A statement announcing the deal claimed that Sizmek and Rocket Fuel service more than 20,000 advertisers and 3,600 agencies to global audiences in over 70 countries, and service a client base comprised of the world’s most recognized brands and agencies.
“The acquisition of Rocket Fuel brings omni-channel creativity and AI-enabled decisioning together under one roof, providing our clients with a self-service predictive marketing platform that optimizes campaigns across the entire media plan,” said Dr. Mark Grether, Executive Chairman of Sizmek. “This is the next logical step in marketing automation–media optimization and full creative optimization combined, bringing together the context and the creative for the optimal consumer experience. The result is advertising that is deeply personalized, highly intuitive, and AI-enabled for peak performance, redefining the boundaries of creative possibility and media execution.”
“By integrating with Sizmek, we’re effectively combining the powerful brand-building insights delivered via our Predictive Marketing Platform’s Decision Engine, with Sizmek’s creative optimization platform. This union creates one integrated, full-funnel solution to enable agencies and their brands to address key performance objectives across paid, owned and earned media,” said Randy Wootton, Chief Executive Officer of Rocket Fuel. “This transaction accelerates our global expansion efforts in more than 70 countries, which empowers us to provide agencies and brands with more tools, exceptional service and support worldwide.”
Upon completion of the transaction, Rocket Fuel will be taken off the stock market to become part of a privately-held company. The transaction, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2017, still hinges on the satisfaction of a minimum tender offer condition, regulatory approvals and ‘other customary closing conditions’.
