• by Philip Rosenstein , July 18, 2017

The consolidating ad-tech market just became more consolidated. As announced on Tuesday, data activation platform Sizmek Inc. has entered into a definitive acquisition agreement to purchase Rocket Fuel Inc. Rocket Fuel uses artificial intelligence to predict the optimal customer response to messaging.

The deal values Rocket Fuel at $145 million.

A Sizmek affiliate, backed through Vector Capital, the private equity firm that owns Sizmek, has agreed to purchase in cash all outstanding Rocket Fuel common stock for $2.60 per share.

Rocket Fuel, a public company, traded as high as $66 per share in its first month of trading in 2013, which gave it a valuation of $2 billion. Since then it has faced systemic difficulties resulting in the considerable loss of value.

The acquisition can still be stalled, however. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, there is a 30-day “go-shop” period in the definitive acquisition agreement, which allows Rocket Fuel to solicit and possibly enter into agreements with other parties.

“The acquisition of Rocket Fuel brings omnichannel creativity and AI-enabled decisioning together under one roof, providing our clients with a self-service predictive marketing platform that optimizes campaigns across the entire media plan,” stated Dr. Mark Grether, executive chairman of Sizmek.

“This transaction accelerates our global expansion efforts in more than 70 countries," stated CEO of Rocket Fuel Randy Wootton.

If the deal goes through, Sizmek will pay $125.5 million upfront, with that number reaching $145 million when assuming Rocket Fuel’s debt burden.