Mobile ad network InMobi, who claim to be the world’s largest independent mobile advertising platform, today announced the acquisition of AerServ for $90 million in cash and stock. The acquisition will beef up InMobi’s video and programmatic business, which will account for 35 percent of the overall company revenue. A statement about the acquisition also said that the companies aim to bring header bidding into mobile in-app environments for the first time.
The acquisition is partly a response to the fact that mobile premium publishers are seeking greater control over advertising revenue and deeper transparency into both the buyer landscape and pricing than what many supply-side platforms offer today. InMobi say that AerServ’s technology is a step towards delivering a ‘next-generation platform that goes beyond traditional ad mediation’ and provides ‘high-quality brand demand’. The scale of the InMobi Exchange scale will also increase considerably as AerServ runs more than 90 billion ad opportunities each month and provides access to brand programmatic demand to over 2,000 mobile apps.
“This acquisition fits in perfectly with our global strategy to bring best-in-class technology for premium publishers and driving mobile programmatic video revenues to them. Our combined entities will double our headcount in the U.S. while establishing a product and tech hub for InMobi in Los Angeles, a hotspot of innovation for media and video content,” said Abhay Singhal, co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer at InMobi. “We are two profitable companies combining forces in North America and this will further cement our leadership position in video advertising, enabling us to continue investing heavily.”
“We’re excited to join forces with InMobi and grow the mobile advertising and programmatic industry together,” said Josh Speyer, Chief Executive Officer at AerServ. “Our decision to embark on this new adventure was made easy by the great partner we have in InMobi, their expertise in the industry and global scale. This will allow us to scale our platforms together across the globe and build a strong business in previously untapped markets such as China and broader APAC.”
