Sizmek buying Calif. ad tech firm

$125.5M deal for Rocket Fuel may help Austin firm take on Google.

Austin-based digital advertising company Sizmek plans to acquire California-based advertising technology company Rocket Fuel for $125.5 million, the companies said Tuesday.

The merger agreement calls for Sizmek to pay $2.60 per share for Rocket Fuel, a publicly traded company. The deal, which has been approved by Rocket Fuel’s board, values Rocket Fuel at $145 million, according to the companies. The companies said they expect the deal to close in the third quarter. Rocket Fuel will also have a 30-day go-shop-period right to solicit other potential buyout offers. If the deal is completed, Rocket Fuel will be a privately held company.

The deal will “create one of the largest independent marketing

platforms built for agencies and brands,” Sizmek said in a news release. “The acquisition brings together two of the world’s most respected names in advertising technology, to create one of the largest independent marketing platforms built for agencies and brands. It will fuse together AI-powered predictive analytics, dynamic creative and media optimization to drive true campaign performance.”

In reporting on the deal, Adweek wrote that the merger could “help Sizmek and Rocket Fuel combine their resources to compete with behemoths like Google and Facebook.”

Sizmek — which was purchased last year by private equity firm Vector Capital for $122 million — carries out digital ad campaigns for advertisers and agencies around the world. The company has about 1,000 employees in 65 countries, and works with more than 3,600 ad agencies and 20,000 brand advertisers.

Rocket Fuel offers data-management products and a demand-side “predictive marketing” platform that uses artificial intelligence to help marketers place their ads more efficiently, according to the company.

“The acquisition of Rocket Fuel brings omni-channel creativity and AI-enabled decisioning together under one roof, providing our clients with a self-service predictive marketing platform that optimizes campaigns across the entire media plan,” Mark Grether, executive chairman of Sizmek, said in a written statement. “This is the next logical step in marketing automation — media optimization and full creative optimization combined, bringing together the context and the creative for the optimal consumer experience. The result is advertising that is deeply personalized, highly intuitive, and AI-enabled for peak performance, redefining the boundaries of creative possibility and media execution.”

‘This is the next logical step in marketing automation.’ Mark Grether Executive chairman, Sizmek