Millennial Media to acquire Nexage

Millennial Media today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Boston-based mobile RTB firm Nexage for approximately US$107.5 million in cash and stock, subject to certain adjustments.“We are in a very exciting time right now as we help to build, educate and advance the role of RTB and programmatic solutions to advertisers, publishers, and developers,” said Michael Barrett, president and CEO of Millennial Media.He explained that the company's vision is to create a "full-stack solution that enables us to open the flow of impressions, operate a leading independent exchange, and maximise yield for [its] publishers" and that by integrating Nexage's programmatic technology, it will help "uniquely position [Millennial Media] in [the] fast paced ecosystem".The proposed acquisition of Nexage underpins Millennial Media’s platform business in three key areas:Nexage's offerings will complement Millennial Media's demand from agencies and advertisers with a complete programmatic marketplace that will increase yield for publishers via expertise and scale.Secondly, the acquiring of Nexage will allow advertisers to buy impressions programmatically as Millennial Media will be in the position to enable buyers to execute deals via public and private RTB auctions and programmatic direct deals.Lastly, with Millennial Media's existing data management platform, DMP, as its backbone, the two companies will be in a distinct position to enrich impressions through first and third party data. Its mobile-first DMP can ingest publisher and advertiser data to enable re-targeting, audience extensions, and cross-device attribution.Ernie Cormier, president and CEO of Nexage, said: “Millennial Media is an extremely well known name in our industry, and a real pioneer and leader in bringing brand dollars into mobile." He further added that he "[believes] the addition of Nexage’s platform and people will further Millennial Media’s mission in creating a leading independent mobile advertising platform and vital programmatic marketplace.”