Amobee Media Systems, a specialist in advertising solutions for mobile operators, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire mobile advertising agency, RingRing Media. The acquisition is said to bring Amobee a step closer to fulfilling its long-term vision aimed at creating the industry's largest mobile advertising exchange dedicated to connecting publishers, advertising agencies and brands to premium inventory in real-time, on a global scale. Amobee's customers include some of the largest mobile operator networks, including Telefonica and Vodafone.
Based in London and co-founded by industry veterans Ben Tatton-Brown and Media Week Rising Star of the Year, Harry Dewhirst, RingRing Media is said to have earned a world-wide reputation as a leader in mobile advertising, representing some of the largest brands in the world and exchanging over 4 billion impressions per month.
With the strategic move, Amobee is said to be complementing its rich, operator-centric inventory and portfolio of services and technology with RingRing Media's mobile advertising exchange. RingRing Exchange is the world's first mobile advertising platform dedicated to connecting top tier mobile advertisers, media buying agencies and local and global ad networks with leading mobile publishers, operators and application developers to maximize yield for sellers and improve campaign performance and ROI.
"This acquisition solves an industry issue. By leveraging the RingRing Exchange we are able to streamline the process and connect supply and demand using the best technology on the market," said Zohar Levkovitz, co-founder and CEO of Amobee. "In doing so, we will be able to reduce the friction associated with today's mobile media buying and offer a more integrated mobile advertising experience to our customers."
As a result of the acquisition, Amobee says it will make it easier for mobile advertisers and mobile publishers to co-exist, helping sellers monetize mobile display inventory and giving buyers advanced targeting tools to access the broadest possible reach at the best possible price through one single buy.
"Both Ben and Harry have a proven track record of building highly effective global mobile advertising businesses, and now Amobee will benefit from the skill and passion they bring. We are thrilled that they will continue to lead RingRing Media and help us to deliver even more intelligent advertising solutions in the future," added Levkovitz.
"Amobee saw value in our people, technology and a deep understanding of the market," explained co-founder Ben Tatton-Brown of RingRing Media who will remain Managing Director of RingRing Media. "Amobee and RingRing Media make an excellent match creating a gold-standard end-to-end mobile advertising solution that enables brands, advertising agencies and publishers to achieve the greatest return from mobile."
Amobee's acquisition of RingRing Media expands its global presence by establishing a London hub that provides a direct foothold in multiple regions, strengthening Amobee's global position delivering enhanced services in key territories such as the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia. As a result, Amobee and RingRing Media customers will now have access to the RingRing Exchange to seamlessly facilitate mobile advertising.
"We will continue to acquire adjacent companies, to build the world's largest mobile advertising player. On the heels of the honor bestowed on us by the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer, our acquisition strategy helps expand our global footprint and is just one example of how we plan to continue our rapid growth," said Levkovitz. "Over the past four years we have been behind some of the largest mobile advertising implementations in the world, such as Vodafone and Telefónica, becoming the most widely adopted mobile advertising platform in the industry. Our recent purchase underlines our promise to continue to create and spin out technology solutions that not only add value, but offer the best and broadest options available on the market."
The acquisition is subject to certain closing conditions and is expected to be completed in the first quarter.