Ad tech firm Verve Group has announced the acquisition of Captify, a search intelligence business, for a total purchase price of €25.6 million.
Verve, which offers buy- and sell-side programmatic trading tools, said the acquisition expands its demand-side capabilities by adding Captify’s search data into its audience intelligence platform, Helix. Captify analyses “up to 1 billion daily searches”, according to the announcement, in order to help advertisers reach audiences based on their search behaviour. By integrating “one of the largest search data assets outside Walled Gardens” into its ecosystem, Verve Group can offer brands consumer insights in real time.
Captify’s technology also enables audience targeting and campaign measurement without the use of third-party cookies, according to the announcement, making its data set increasingly attractive in a post-cookie world. The companies said that by aggregating “400 billion active data points per day”, Captify’s real-time analysis continuously trains its machine learning models, which it uses to provide “800 leading global brands” with insights into consumer interests, motivations and intentions.
The search for demand
Verve meanwhile runs sell-side platforms (SSP) to monetise inventory for mobile publishers, and aims to drive demand by strengthening its audience intelligence platform.
At the same time, the US-headquartered company is looking to grow its business outside the US, citing Captify’s strong UK presence, alongside its multiple offices in the US and Australia. The acquisition adds around 30 salespeople at these locations.
“Verve and Captify complement each other perfectly, making this acquisition a strong strategic fit,” said Verve CEO Remco Westermann. “Verve’s clear US market leadership amongst programmatic advertising SSPs on Apple iOS as well as Google Android will now receive an additional lift from the strong complementary demand-side access and sophisticated sales team Captify adds to our Group.”
Behind the numbers
As well as the strategic compatibility, the companies emphasised the financial benefits of the merger, noting that Captify will contribute around €41 million in full-year revenues to Verve Group, with an expected EBITDA of €5 million. Meanwhile the agreement is forecast to generate post-deal synergies as early as this year, contributing around €12-13 million in revenues in 2025, and anticipating “full synergetic benefits to unfold” from January 2026.
The €25.6 million transaction is structured in two stages, starting with a €16.2 million cash consideration within six weeks of closing, then an additional deferred cash consideration of €9.4 million to be paid 18 months after closing. Captify will be consolidated into Verve Group financials from 16th September 2025.
Under the terms of the deal, the Captify team will be integrated into Verve’s commercial brand and agency, technology and product teams, which the business expects to generate revenue and cost synergies of approximately €1.6 million per year. Captify CEO Mike Welch will step down from his role and become a strategic advisor at Verve Group.
“With this transaction, we are clearly delivering on our strategic roadmap,” added Westermann. “We are strengthening our demand-side, accelerating our expansion into the UK market and gaining a strong sales team, which will benefit the entire Group. At the same time, we see a broad range of measures and possibilities, which will lead to significant post-transaction synergies at a decisively reduced cost base.”
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