Chinese strategic to buy VC-backed US marketing platform
Spearhead Integrated Marketing Communication Group, a Beijing-based offline marketing service provider, will buy Smaato, a California-based mobile ad exchange backed by Singapore's EDB Investments (EDBI) and Singapore Press Holdings.
Spearhead has proposed to pay $148 million for a 100% stake in Smaato, according to a release. The majority of the investment will come from Shanghai Qiugu Investment Partnership, a buyout fund supported by Spearhead and several domestic investment firms.
Acquiring Smaato will help Spearhead with several of its strategic objectives, most notably by providing an established global user base with over one billion unique mobile customers each month outside of China. Within China, Smaato's software can be used to accelerate Spearhead's entry into the mobile advertising market.
The deal is also expected to accelerate Smaato's growth, as it enters the China market with an established partner that has considerable resources to support its commercial growth.
EDBI has participated in several funding rounds for Smaato, first investing in the company's $7 million Series C round in 2011 alongside longtime supporter Aeris Capital. The two firms committed a further $3 million together later that year, then invested $25 million alongside Singapore Press Holdings in Smaato's 2014 Series D round.
EDBI has been investing in US tech companies for years; in 2011, along with its Smaato investment, the firm led a $20 million Series C round for California-based battery maker Contour Energy Systems. More recently EDBI joined a $61.1 million Series C round for online education provider Coursera and a $52 million round for New York-based adaptive learning system developer Knewton.
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