• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, May 3, 2024

Ascential plc-controlled agency tech startup Hudson MX has completed pitches to three suitors as part of Acential’s plan to sell the unit’s assets by the end of this quarter. According to executives familiar with the presentations, the potential bidders include Hudson’s chief rival, Mediaocean, a consortium of holding companies, and possibly Publicis, the latter which may have pulled out of the bidding process.

The consortium is said to be led by Omnicom, which pledged to “assist” Ascential in the sale of Hudson when it struck a deal to acquire its Flywheel Digital assets late last year, as part of an ongoing strategic plan.

Omnicom executives declined to comment on exactly how it would assist with Hudson’s sale at the time, and at presstime and Omnicom spokesperson had not responded to MediaPost’s query about a potential holding company consortium bid now.

Executives familiar with the bidding process said the consortium likely also includes Interpublic’s IPG Mediabrands and WPP’s GroupM, but spokespersons from those units also had no comment and executives contacted by MediaPost said they were unaware of what might be going on vis a vis a consortium bid for Hudson’s assets.

The idea of a holding company consortium acquiring Hudson makes sense, because the big agencies have long been frustrated by the near-monopolistic dominance of Mediaocean – and of its precursor Donovan Data Systems before it – as their main media processing technology provider.

It also has a precedent, because Omnicom and WPP previously collaborated on a joint venture startup, MediaPort, to compete with Donovan before ultimately shutting it down. Later, Publicis backed another startup, Mediabank, to compete with Donovan, which ultimately led to those two companies merging to form Mediaocean, which is venture capital-backed.

A Mediaocean spokesperson declined to comment on the Hudson MX bidding process, but Mediaocean is presumed to be the most likely suitor, because it would effectively squelch competition and because Hudson MX has both talent and a client base that would help growth Mediaocean’s business.

According to Hudson insiders, the startup has had a spate of recent new business making it a more interesting acquisition target, including audio media giant IHeartMedia’s in-house advertising unit, as well as Omnicom’s Flywheel Digital unit’s media workflow management, a deal executives said was made just prior to Omnicom’s acquisition of Flywheel.

Hudson’s other big clients include Verizon’s in-house advertising unit, and barter media agency Evergreen Media, but many big agencies have been continuously utilizing at least one product provided by Hudson, it’s spot broadcast media management system, BuyerAssist.

That said, Ascential plc recently released an unaudited results document for 2023, revealing decidedly lackluster results for Hudson MX (see chart above), including a loss of more than $124 million.

How much a sale of Hudson MX's assets might fetch Ascential, as well as other investors, including some high-profile industry individuals such as former MediaLink CEO Michael Kassan, is not clear, but based on a disclosure in Ascential's results an independent assessment by an industry expert retained by the company estimated the value of Hudson's net held for sale assets at nearly $75 million.

A spokesperson for Hudson MX declined to respond to MediaPost for this story.