Q1 Group -- a conglomerate of digital advertising companies operating in Southeast Asia -- has acquired a controlling stake in MediaQuark, a programmatic ad-targeting firm, the companies have announced. Q1 Group adds MediaQuark to a roster of ad tech companies including Ambient Digital (an ad network) and Ambient Exchange (a soon-to-be-launched ad exchange).
By the looks of it, Q1 Group is not done loading up on ad tech companies either. Erik Rosenkranz, chairman of Q1 Group, said in a statement that the company plans to “grow [its] programmatic investments.”
In that vein, Tom Simpson, CEO of MediaQuark, has been named chief strategy officer of Q1 Group. He will oversee commercial and acquisition strategy for the group, per a release.
Simpson will retain his role as CEO of MediaQuark as well, and MediaQuark still intends to roll out a data management platform (DMP) later this year, named datajar.
Prior to co-founding MediaQuark in 2013, Simpson previously held positions at Group M, Mindshare and Havas, per a release.