The combined entity will represent an advertising technology platform with over US$200 billion in annualised media spend and over 1 trillion monthly ad impressions with emphasis on cross-channel video and dynamic creative.

Mediaocean and Flashtalking have entered into a definitive agreement in which Mediaocean will acquire Flashtalking, the two ad platforms announced on 13 July.

Mediaocean is an omnichannel advertising platform and Flashtalking is an independent ad management platform.

The combined entity will represent an advertising technology platform with over $200 billion in annualised media spend and over 1 trillion monthly ad impressions. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.

The combined entity will infuse Flashtalking’s best-in-class solutions for primary ad serving, creative personalisation, identity management, and verification with Mediaocean’s modern system of record used by the world’s leading brands and agencies, the two companies said in a statement.

According to the announcement, Mediaocean and Flashtalking customers will benefit from comprehensive and future-forward solutions for global strategic planning, omnichannel media management, closed ecosystems optimisation, and financial reconciliation across traditional media, open web, closed ecosystems, and connected TV.

“Bringing together Mediaocean and Flashtalking is an incredible opportunity for our customers, employees, and the industry at large,” said Bill Wise, CEO of Mediaocean. “Flashtalking is the source of truth for digital and CTV ads and Mediaocean is the system of record for all media. Combined, we will deliver comprehensive and future-forward solutions for omnichannel advertising. Most importantly, our platform is not compromised by media ownership so we can focus solely on driving outcomes for marketers and their agency partners.”

“Our mission of enabling marketers to move consumers to action is a perfect fit for Mediaocean’s vision of a world where marketers market the way consumers consume,” said John Nardone, CEO at Flashtalking. “Over the years, we’ve built the most trusted, independent platform for driving advertising relevance and improving campaign performance. Together, our teams and complementary tech will help brands succeed in a future dominated by converged media and anchored on cookieless identity resolution.”

Building on a partnership

The acquisition of Flashtalking by Mediaocean builds on a partnership the companies launched in 2018 to incorporate ad serving data into media buyer workflow. Earlier this year, Mediaocean announced its new product paradigm that unifies solutions across media intelligence, management, and finance.

The global advertising industry is a $700 billion market undergoing major transformation due to changing consumer habits and privacy expectations. This has led to the rise of CTV and closed ecosystems in which Mediaocean made a large investment via the acquisition of 4C in July 2020 and, now with Flashtalking, will enhance its best-in-class solutions.