San Francisco-based
marketing firm Gravity4 on Monday announced the acquisition of adX Search AB, a paid-search platform in Europe specializing in self-serve optimization and real-time bidding (RTB).
Terms of the
deal were not disclosed, but a source close to Gravity4 told Real-Time Daily that the price was in the upper single-digit millions, with one-third paid in cash and two-thirds in stock.
Real-Time Daily was also told Gravity4's stock is valued at $1 billion based on revenue, intellectual property and growth.
Gravity4 has been on a buying spree of late, with adX
Search AB being its ninth acquisition in as many months. The company’s other recent acquisitions include Ezlike and Triggit, both of which are Facebook Marketing Partners.
While its two
previous acquisitions were focused on native, retargeting and tapping into the Facebook advertising ecosystem, Gravity4's latest acquisition is focused on search. adX Search's technology will be
integrated into Gravity4’s marketing cloud. It has been renamed G4 Search.
Per a release, search technology was the final component needed to round out Gravity4's marketing tech
offering. Gravity4’s ultimate goal is to take on the likes of Oracle, Adobe and Salesforce in the marketing technology realm.
The adX Search team will work from Gravity4’s Swedish
office, per a release, and former adX Search executives Mikael Petterson, Anna Edelsvard and Nicklas Osth will all join Gravity4’s European management team.