• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, August 5, 2019

New York-based private equity firm O3 Industries on Monday completed its acquisition of Peer39, a division of Sizmek.

Sizmek announced the acquisition to O3 Industries on Aug. 1. The acquiring company said it would create a new business -- P39 Tech LLC -- at the private investment firm to support the remaining assets from Sizmek’s Chapter 11 liquidation.

The last remaining assets were reportedly acquired for $18 million, a higher price than previously agreed upon.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stuart M. Bernstein approved the sale at a July 25 hearing.

Peer39 will run as a stand-alone business with industry veterans Mario Diez and Alex White steering the course.

Diez, who most recently was CEO of PointRoll, steps in as the new company’s CEO. White, who led Peer39’s product and account teams, becomes COO.

Diez called Peer39 an “underutilized asset with a ton of potential,” and stated that the company will continue to provide the data and insights to help advertisers understand and target ads. It is also committed to continuing the relationships it maintained with brands, agencies and tech platforms, and will look to serve the industry as an independent company.

"With GDPR in Europe and coming regulations in California, contextual data will become increasingly important for advertisers and agencies,” stated Daniel Ozen, president of O3 Industries. “The industry's reliance on third party data is clearly an issue. With this backdrop, contextual data represents a privacy friendly, scalable, and effective data asset that is poised for rapid growth.