Ad network and technology firm Advertising.com has acquired Scandinavian cost-per-click (CPC) ad firm Dayrates in a bid to beef up its international presence.
The acquisition, which involved an exchange of shares, will make Oslo-based Dayrates a unit of Advertising.com’s international subsidiary in London. Further terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Through the deal, Baltimore-based Advertising.com gains control of the largest performance-based online advertising play in Scandinavia, with offices in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Germany.
Currently, the privately-held, two-year-old firm serves about 500 million ad impressions monthly, it said. Investors include Olso-based VCs Four Seasons Venture and SND Invest, and the venture arm of Norwegian media conglomerate TV2.
Dayrates chief executive officer Ole Petter Wie will become chief operating officer of London-based Advertising.com International, reporting to Bruce McLaren, who remains chief executive officer of the subsidiary.
The move comes after months of efforts by other U.S.-based online advertising networks to extract themselves from the European media market. DoubleClick, for instance, sold its media network to German rival AdLINK. Prior to its merger with Real Media in October, 24/7 Media
simply shut down its European network to cut costs. (Ironically, the firm — now dubbed 24/7 Real Media — again has a presence in Europe through the merger.)
But Advertising.com, which recently opened an office in France, said it sees an opportunity in increasing its foothold on the continent.
“We are excited about our new partnership with Dayrates,” said Advertising.com chief executive officer Scott Ferber. “By combining Dayrates’ strong client base with our existing international operations and superior technology, Advertising.com is well-positioned to become the largest performance-based online marketing company in Europe.”
While Advertising.com is one of the few ad networks increasing its presence in Europe, the successes of the pay-for-performance model also have encouraged search engine Overture to begin offering its keyword-based paid listings abroad. The Pasadena, Calif.-based company has a recent syndication deal with AOL Europe, and this week opened an office in Germany to service clients including T-Online.
