Acquisitions · Advertising technology (software)
Geniee buys rest of US ad tech firm Zelto for about $42 million
- Buyer
- Geniee (Tokyo)
- Target
- Zelto (AdPushup), Delaware (operations in New York and India)
- Value
- About ¥5.76B (about $42M) for 82.5%, plus up to $10M more if targets are met
- Status
- Agreed February 27, 2023; expected to close February 28, 2023.
- Date
- 2023-02-27
Geniee, a Tokyo ad tech company in the SoftBank group, agreed to buy the 82.5% of Zelto (formerly AdPushup) it did not own for about ¥5.76 billion, with up to $10 million more tied to results through March 2026. Zelto uses machine learning to choose ad layouts and sizes that raise publishers' ad income. Geniee had bought a small stake in 2016.
Why it matters
Zelto had about ¥4.7 billion in sales, a large addition for Geniee, and gave it customers in North America, India and Europe. TechCrunch, citing an unnamed source, reported the total deal at about $70 million.
About Zelto
Zelto was founded by Ankit Oberoi in India, has a large team in India and counts the US as its headquarters and biggest market. It nearly ran out of cash in 2014, which Oberoi said forced it to become frugal and profitable, and it raised less than $2.5 million from outside investors. Its customers include Elle, CNET, PCMag and Mashable. It had an operating profit of about ¥775 million.
An early bet
Geniee chief executive Tomoaki Kudo said he first met Oberoi seven years earlier and invested on a hunch that Zelto would become a global leader. TechCrunch's source said the sale returned about 40 times their money to some angel investors. Zelto planned to keep running as before and to expand into Southeast Asia.
Sources
Kakehashi M&A News home
