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Millennial Media Acquisition: AOL Agrees To Pay $250 Million For Leading App Monetization Platform

On September 3, AOL announced its plans to acquire the Baltimore-based Millennial Media, an end-to-end mobile platform that the company believes will assist it in serving more advertising, especially in the mobile arena.

This move is expected to advance AOL’s position in certain international markets, including Japan, Germany, Singapore, UK, and France. Millennial Media’s network already covers over 65,000 apps. AOL’s reach to internet users will also be expanded.

The company’s president Bob Lord said, “AOL is well positioned as consumers spend more and more time on mobile devices, and as advertisers, agencies and publishers become more reliant on programmatic monetization tools.”

AOL is well positioned as consumers spend more and more time on mobile devices, and as advertisers, agencies and publishers become more reliant on programmatic monetization tools.

The attempt by AOL to move forward in the industry of digital advertising with a niche in mobile ads came at a cost of $238 million. The price per share for Millennial Media was $1.75. Millennial Media is a publicly traded entity. “I am excited by what this acquisition means for our shareholders, our employees and our partners,” stated Michael Barrett, the CEO and president of Millennial Media, in a Tech Crunch article. Barrett also expressed his excitement concerning the potential this move could have for shareholders.

AOL was acquired by Verizon at a price of $4.4 billion earlier this year. These purchases have been strategic moves by the companies to capitalize on the growing mobile market.

Consumer trends indicate that tablets and smartphones are becoming the more preferred pieces of technology, especially when compared to computers. Even though mobile advertising is still a smaller piece of the big puzzle of digital advertising, investments in mobile advertising now could be strategic in the long-run.

When the deal is complete, Millennial Media will become a full subsidiary of AOL. Goldman, Sachs & Co. advised AOL financially as details of the transaction were discussed. The deal between AOL and Millennial Media is expected to close during the next few months, pending regulatory approvals.

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