Media.net is one of those companies that flies under the radar for the vast majority of people, but those in the AdTech industry are very familiar with it. The company has annual revenue of over $232 million, and directly manages almost half a billion in annual advertising. They have an impressive list of major publishers such as Yahoo, Bing, Forbes, Cosmopolitan, and many others.
Many people will quickly become familiar with the company, since they are getting bought out in one of the largest acquisitions in adtech history. The company is being purchased by a Chinese consortium for $900 million. Media.net is saying that this deal is the third largest of its type in this industry.
The consortium is headed up by Miteno Communication Technology, which is a major IT infrastructure investments and mobile Internet operations company.
It is not yet clear what, if any, changes will occur due to this acquisition. Media.net has offices in countries around the world, and employs about 800 people. It seems that most of the staff should be safe as one of the biggest attractions to the company is the management team and tech staff.
According to Miteno’s Chairmen, Mr. Zhang, “The primary reason for the acquisition was not [Media.net’s] high profit, but more of the management team and the technology staff.”
This is really not to surprising given that Media.net was founded by Divyank Turakhia, who is also the current CEO. Turakhia has an impressive track record, and is well known as an excellent leader. He made his first million when he was just 18, started and grown several companies, and with this deal will likely become a billionaire at the age of 34.
The buyout is an all cash deal, to be paid out in two installments. The consortium will pay $426 million immediately and then another payment of 474 million down the road.
