• by Laurie Sullivan , November 4, 2021

Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, a global provider of business decisioning data and analytics, went on an acquisition spree and on Thursday announced it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire two data companies.

Eyeota -- a data company supporting enterprises -- and NetWise -- a provider of business-to-business (B2B) marketing data -- are the two acquisition targets.

Dun & Bradstreet said the acquisitions will extend its position in B2B online marketing and enable the combined businesses to provide data and technology for businesses looking to identify, reach and engage high-propensity audiences for multichannel marketing campaigns. 

Behind the Eyeota and NetWise acquisitions is Dun & Bradstreet’s ability to offer clients a link between professional contact data and consumer data for higher ad targeting match rates.

This should enable companies to build on the investments they have made in data management in Dun & Bradstreet’s D-U-N-S Number, a unique nine-digit identifier for businesses to target ads across multiple channels such as social, search and display advertising campaigns. The idea is to make it easier to combine offline and online data, and improve personalized B2B marketing.

Timur Yarnall, CEO and co-founder at Neutronian, an independent data quality measurement company, called the Eyeota acquisition “a very smart move by D&B to combine scale and efficiency. He said “it provides a fully integrated offering for marketers with a global footprint, and substantial competitor to existing players like LiveRamp.”

The initial announcement did not clarify how the companies will be structured, whether the plan is to integrate technology from Eyeota and NetWise, or whether the executive staff and employees will remain with the combined company.

Dun & Bradstreet has been working with Eyeota at least since 2017, tapping into the company’s hundreds of audience segments focused on finance, insurance, telecommunications, and technology.

Dun & Bradstreet today also reported third-quarter net income for 2021 of $16.6 million on $541.9 million in revenue, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier. It generated a profit of 4 cents. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 29 cents per share.