Singtel's Amobee acquires global tech platform Turn for US$310 million

Singtel subsidiary Amobee, a global digital marketing technology company serving brands such as Airbnb, Dell EMC and Lexus, has signed an agreement to acquire Turn, a provider of a global technology platform for marketers and agencies, at an enterprise value of US$310 million.This acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and fulfillment of closing conditions, and expected to be completed within the first half of 2017.Turn offers advanced data and analytics solutions through a data management platform (DMP), allowing marketers to better understand customer interactions across ad formats and devices. Turn further operates a demand-side platform (DSP) which provides programmatic buying capabilities that automate the process of buying digital ads in real time across video, mobile and display for major brands including KraftHeinz, Toyota and L'Oréal USA.The acquisition of Turn will expand Amobee's existing programmatic and data management capabilities. According to Amobee, it will now be able to offer marketers an independent end-to-end advertising and data management platform across all channels, formats and devices, access to proprietary Amobee Brand Intelligence insights as well as advanced analytics and media planning capabilities. With this unified platform, leading brands and agencies can plan and buy media for specific audiences in a more integrated way to maximize their investments across desktop, mobile, video and social media.Samba Natarajan, Singtel's CEO of Group Digital Life, said with marketers increasingly shifting from traditional to digital media to engage consumers, global digital ad spend is expected to exceed US$200 billion in 2017."The strategic acquisition of Turn strengthens Amobee's technological edge in the rapidly evolving market of digital advertising and accelerates its growth into a significant global digital marketing player. It will also prime Amobee for expansion beyond the US and into the Asia Pacific, where the Singtel Group reaches some 640 million customers across 22 countries," he addedAmobee's CEO, Kim Perell, said, this acquisition makes Amobee one of the largest independent buy-side marketing technology providers globally, boosts our data analytics capabilities and understanding of consumers, and provides a strong foundation for the company's future growth."To differentiate and capitalise on the growing market opportunity, we will offer world-class technology paired with advanced data and insights," he said.Bruce Falck, CEO of Turn, said, "Turn's vision is to help marketers understand what works, what doesn't, and why, by providing a powerful insights, analytics and programmatic buying platform. Today is a significant moment for us and a recognition of the quality of our technology platform. As a part of Amobee, we will be able to enhance the value delivered to our customers and partners on a global scale and accelerate innovation in this space."