• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, January 11, 2021

Verve Group, a global brand performance ad platform, announced Monday the acquisition of Nexstar’s digital video advertising technology platform, formerly known as LKQD.

The digital video platform reaches more than 200 million unique monthly users in the U.S. across desktop, mobile, in-app, and connected TV devices.

Sameer Sondhi, chief revenue officer at Verve Group, believes the company will continue to add new technologies, top talent, and scale its business lines through organic growth.

Verve Group is part of Media and Games Invest (MGI) and has an international presence of more than 200 employees in about 25 offices, spanning the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.

It was acquired by MGI in 2020, following the acquisition of PubNative in 2019. MGI also acquired Platform161 in July 2020.  The company will continue to grow via acquisitions that fit in its vision and mission, building out its portfolio of services.

Nexstar’s digital video platform connects hundreds of premium publishers, such as Samsung, Newsy, and Viacom with top advertisers and demand-side platforms, including The Trade Desk, Adobe, and Amobee.

The acquisition broadens Verve Group’s portfolio of advertising services, while adding access to CTV and OTT media inventory, an area of rapid growth in the digital advertising ecosystem.

CTV ad spend in the U.S. will more than double to $18 billion by 2024, according to eMarketer..

The acquisition also include Nexstar’s digital video technology stack, as nearly a dozen employees from Nexstar will join the Verve Group team. This includes members of the SaaS sales, product, and engineering teams.

A small portion of client overlaps exists, with some premium in-app publishers who focus on OTT and CTV.