AOL, the former Internet provider turned media tech company, has just announced they have signed an agreement to acquire mobile advertising company, Millennial Media.
The announcement comes on the heels of Verizon’s purchase of AOL for $4.4 billion that took place earlier this year. With more and more media consumption moving toward mobile, Verizon’s acquisition of AOL seems to be a big step for the company in the direction of digital media and marketing.
And AOL appears to be following suite with this recent agreement to purchase Millennial Media, a company that offers both mobile advertising services and monetization for mobile content.
AOL says in the announcement that the acquisition of Millennial Media “further strengthens AOL’s mobile capabilities and underlines its position as the first global mobile media technology company.”
Bob Lord, President, AOL explains the company’s position further, saying:
“AOL is well positioned as consumers spend more and more time on mobile devices, and as advertisers, agencies and publishers become more reliant on programmatic monetization tools. As we continue to invest in our platforms and technology, the acquisition of Millennial Media accelerates our competitive mobile offering in ONE by AOL and enhances our current publisher offering with an ‘all in’ monetization platform for app developers.”
AOL is a company that has evolved over the years. The company has transitioned from being a well known internet service provider to now operating a subscription service platform as well as a scaled global content delivery network, and scaled global content brands.
Purchasing Millennial Media, an independent mobile ad marketplace, fits for where AOL has headed as a company. Millennial Media offers end-to-end mobile platform services for advertisers as well as solutions for advertising on mobile and monetization on sites or apps.
With the deal to acquire Millennial Media, AOL hopes to accelerate its mobile position in international markets such as Singapore, Japan, UK, France and Germany. The company will also gain access to Millennial Media’s suite of over 65,000 apps and approximately 1 billion active global users.
Millennial stands to gain from the deal as well. Michael Barrett, President and CEO of Millennial Media stated in the announcement:
“By joining AOL, we will be adding additional mobile expertise to AOL’s growing technology assets. I am excited by what this acquisition means for our shareholders, our employees and our partners.”
The acquisition will be transacted through the purchase of Millennial Media publicly traded stock. AOL has agreed to pay $1.75 per share of Millennial Media stock, coming in around a total price of $238 million.
Upon completion of the deal Millennial Media will become a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL. The deal is expected to close sometime in the fall of this year.
Image: AOL
Makes perfect sense to me. If they’re part of the Verizon family it means mobile can and should be a bigger part of what they do. This will give them more of the technology they need.
Aira Bongco
Agreed. I think it makes perfect sense. But then I am wondering about their plans. They are companies that need to somehow step up their game for there are strong competitors in the niche that they are trying to come into.
Aol could’ve been the leader of all the telecommunication companies, if their deal with Verizon was success. I am still wondering about their LTE and wireless services which they promised to give.