• TechCrunch, Thursday, February 23, 2017 11:11 AM

Amobee, a marketing tech platform, has agreed to acquire ad tech company Turn for $310 million. No surprise there. Turn, a data management platform provider (DMP), has been struggling with its focus in a consolidating ad tech sector for some time. Amobee was formerly a mobile ad startup before its 2012 acquisition by Singtel, where it remains a subsidiary. Singtel and Amobee have made other acquisitions on the digital ad side, including Gradient X, Adconion, and Kontera. Turn continues to run a DMP and a demand-side platform for ad buyers. The company  raised more than $150 milliion in equity funding from investors, including Focus Ventures, Greenspring Associates, Fidelity Investments, and BlackRock.

TechCrunch reports that Turn had planned an IPO a few years ago but it never happened perhaps due to the volatility for ad tech in the public markets. Turn CEO Bruce Falck said that Turn "will continue to pursue a mission of 'being the global source of truth for marketers,' with a team of 800 people working with more than 1,000 customers." The acquisition marks the continued march toward consolidation in the ad tech sector: Adobe acquired TubeMogul, Salesforce bought Krux, and Rubicon Project is working with explore strategic options, including a potential sale, with Morgan Stanley. This week Rubicon Project announced a restructuring. And yet, The Trade Desk led a successful IPO and AppNexus is throwing its hat into the IPO ring soon.

The Amobee/Turn deal is expected to close in the first half of 2017, subject to regulatory approval.

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