• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, March 6, 2018

WeWork on Tuesday announced the acquisition of Conductor. While it may seem like an unlikely pairing, both companies have a mission to change the world -- one in the physical dimension and the other in digital, especially in search and education.

For WeWork, a company focused on creating workspaces in the physical world, the acquisition provides a digital platform. For Conductor, a company best known for search engine optimization, it provides access to resources such as capital to build out the company and its services in education and technology.

Conductor will teach companies how to market their products and services. “We’re also going to build a modern marketing cloud under the WeWork umbrella,” said Seth Besmertnik, Conductor co-founder and CEO.

Large companies with more than 1,000 employees now make up nearly 25% of WeWork's total membership -- companies such as GE, HSBC, Salesforce, Microsoft, RBC, Mastercard, Samsung, Spotify, Silicon Valley Bank, and others. That marketing cloud will become an asset for WeWork’s clients.

Through the acquisition, Conductor becomes a subsidiary of WeWork and Besmertnik remains as CEO of Conductor, reporting to WeWork President and Chief Financial Officer Artie Minson.

“I’m all in,” Besmertnik said. “I converted all my Conductor shares to WeWork.”

WeWork became a customer of Conductor’s in 2006. The relationship grew WeWork’s organic traffic from search engine referrals to more than 400%.

Besmertnik will have the autonomy to hire new employees and make acquisitions. “We’ll be looking to grow through acquisitions,” he said. “This is only day one.”

About 10% of Conductor’s business is international, and about 50% is with multinational companies.

Besmertnik declined to release the financial details of the deal, but said Conductor raised $67 million in financing throughout the years and this was “a big win for everybody.”