Online advertising and e-mail marketer ValueClick Inc. yesterday said it would merge with digital marketing and messaging technology provider Mediaplex Inc.
The deal is valued at $43.9 million.
Mediaplex's shareholders will receive 0.4113 shares of ValueClick common stock for each share of Mediaplex common stock, representing a 45 percent premium to its shareholders based on Friday's closing price.
The combined company is expected to have more than $150 million in cash, second only to DoubleClick in the online advertising industry, said Elizabeth Lloyd, head of public relations at Mediaplex.
“Being the second company in the online advertising realm gives us more ammunition for both sales and for a technology expansion,” she said.
Lloyd said Mediaplex would add ValueClick's publisher ad serving solution, Dynamo, to its platform, while Mediaplex adds ad serving and electronic customer relationship management technology to ValueClick's offerings.
“Now we can offer both advertisers and marketers the full spectrum of both publishers and advertiser solutions as well as e-mail management on one platform,” she said.
At the close of the merger, which is expected to be at the end of September, Mediaplex, San Francisco, will become a wholly owned subsidiary of ValueClick, Westlake Village, CA.
Jim Zarley will continue as chairman/CEO of ValueClick, while Tom Vadnais, president/CEO of Mediaplex, will keep his post.
