Yahoo is strengthening its video advertising business through the acquisition of online video ad platform BrightRoll for $640 million.
The tech giant based in Sunnyvale, California, announced Tuesday that the acquisition will combine Yahoo’s desktop and mobile video advertising inventory with BrighRoll’s programmatic video platform. BrightRoll is profitable, according to a blog post from Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, and is expected to exceed $100 million in revenue this year.
“Video is display 2.0,” she writes. “It’s what brand advertisers love. It’s a format that elegantly and easily transitions from broadcast television to PC to mobile and even to wearables. This is why video is a key part of our strategy.”
BrightRoll was founded by CEO Tod Sacerdoti and has grown to 400 employees as it powers digital video advertising for a number of brands and agencies. The company will retain its employees following the acquisition, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015.
“We believe the next step for programmatic video advertising as an industry is to extend and standardize globally, make cross-device buying simple and measurable, and complement and integrate with TV,” said Sacerdoti. “We are excited to join Yahoo to materially advance efforts in each of these areas. We’re still in the early innings as an industry, and together, BrightRoll and Yahoo are committed to the vision of helping grow the entire video advertising ecosystem.”
