• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, April 1, 2014

Captivate Network, which operates digital out-of-home video displays in elevators and other public spaces of major office buildings across the U.S., has acquired its main competitor, the Office Media Network, the companies announced Tuesday. Terms of the deal, which included cash and stock, were not disclosed.
 
Founded in 2006, the Office Media Network (which carried content from The Wall Street Journal and was often called the WSJ Office Network) built a portfolio of affiliates including 750 office buildings in 15 major markets nationwide.

After the acquisition is complete, Captivate’s total network will include over 12,000 screens in more than 1,800 large office buildings nationwide. The combined network should deliver over 65 million impressions per month among adults 18 and over, as measured by Nielsen.
 
Most of the Office Media Network’s displays are located in building lobbies, while Captivate’s displays are concentrated in elevators. Captivate senior vice president for technology and operations Todd Newville stated: “The OMN lobby screen service will expand on our proven in-elevator solution to allow buildings to reach tenants in public areas outside of the elevator cabs.”
 
Captivate has signed an interim license agreement with Dow Jones, which will enable the network to continue using WSJ content on existing Office Media Network screens.
 
Last year, Captivate was partially spun off by its owner, Gannett Co., in a deal with private-equity firm Generation Partners. At the time, the partners said the new ownership arrangement would allow Captivate to continue expanding with additional funding from Generation.
 
Also on Tuesday, Margit Kittridge, who formerly served as executive director of marketing and digital business development at the Wall Street Journal Office Network, announced that she is leaving the company to join transit advertising company Titan as vice president and head of digital. In her new role, Kittridge will lead initiatives to establish new trading platforms and software integrations.