FM Acquires Lijit to Reach the Little Guys
San Francisco-based Federated Media Publishing, the powerhouse conversational marketing and media business, announced that they have acquired Boulder, Colorado-based Lijit Networks Inc., a leading provider of advertising services, audience analytics and reader engagement tools for online publishers of all sizes, for an undisclosed amount.
“The Lijit Networks team is just as passionate and committed to powering publishers as we are at Federated Media Publishing and that was a crucial element to this decision,” said Deanna Brown, chief executive officer, Federated Media Publishing. “Our combined relationships, proprietary tools and conversational marketing services will be invaluable to publishers and advertisers alike.”
Under the terms of the acquisition, Lijit will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Federated Media Publishing but will still operate independently but “in conjunction with” Federated Media Publishing. Lijit provides innovative advertising services, audience analytics, and reader engagement tools to over 70,000 online publishers, commercial websites and content networks, as well as helping publishers grow their website, build their business and make more money by connecting publishers with premium online advertising campaigns that are highly targeted and contextually relevant to the publisher’s audience.
Federated Media took interest in Lijit because they serve all types of publishers, even smaller sites who often gets ignored or downplayed by other network players. Lijit offerings in the technology-driven display market include SSP (supply side platforms), DSP (demand side platforms), and RTB (real time bidding), making Ligit committed to helping independent publishers thrive.
Effective immediately, Lijit CEO Todd Vernon and COO Walter Knapp will take on corresponding EVP of Technology and SVP of Platform Revenue responsibilities at Federated Media Publishing and will report directly to Federated Media Publishing’s CEO, Deanna Brown. Additionally, Lijit board member Seth Levine from Foundry Group will join the Federated Media Publishing board of directors.
The acquisition vastly expands the combined company’s inventory of sites, offering premium advertisers improved scale and reach. According to Quantcast, the combined entity will reach 300 million global unique visitors.
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