By Rory Gallivan
Israeli online advertising company Matomy Media Group Ltd.
(MTMY.LN) is beefing up its email marketing and targeted
advertising capabilities by buying a controlling stake in
Toronto-based peer Avenlo.
Matomy said on Wednesday it had acquired 70% of a newly formed
company that has bought the principal business activity and
operations of Avenlo, with an option to buy the remaining 30% over
the next three years. This confirms an earlier report by The Wall
Street Journal that it had agreed the deal, according to people
familiar with the situation.
Although the company didn't disclose a price, terms of the
agreement are likely to value Avenlo at around $17.6 million, the
price Matomy paid for Austrian mobile advertising specialist MobFox
last year, one of the people said.
Avenlo's clients include the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart
Stores Inc. (WMT), and online marketplace Groupon Inc. (GRPN). It
provides advertising services that include marketing campaigns in
which people are sent emails, which if they open, show related
display advertising as the Internet is browsed.
Matomy Chief Executive Ofer Druker told The Wall Street Journal
that email marketing, one of Avenlo's main specialist areas, is a
growing area despite the expansion of social media.
"Email is not an old channel; it is the most frequent way we are
communicating with each other," he said.
He added that the data Avenlo collects in its email marketing
campaigns can be used by Matomy to enhance its targeted advertising
capabilities for non-email advertising, such as on Facebook.
"Data is a very crucial element (of Internet marketing
campaigns)," he said.
Matomy, which provides online video, mobile, social media and
email marketing services for clients such as HSBC Holdings PLC and
AT&T Inc., remains on the lookout for acquisitions, Mr. Druker
said.
Matomy is one of a handful of Israeli online advertising
companies that listed on the London Stock Exchange last year, as
corporate advertising budgets are increasingly shifting toward
online exposure and away from traditional media.
French advertising company Publicis Groupe S.A. (PUB.FR) last
year acquired a 24.9% stake in Matomy to expand its foothold in
online marketing.
Write to Rory Gallivan at rory.gallivan@wsj.com
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