RTL Group to acquire Yospace for €29 million
RTL Group today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire control of the UK-based video technology company Yospace. The transaction is expected to close 1 February 2019.
“Our clients make significant investments in their video offerings and content licenses. Yospace has proven that it can provide an unmatched quality of service even with millions of concurrent users. This new relationship with RTL Group will not only allow us to extend our customer base to all entities of the biggest European broadcast and video network, but RTL Group is also fully committed to support the further roll out of our services to bring more innovative products to media owners around the world.”
Tim Sewell, CEO at Yospace
According to RTL Group, Yospace has developed technologies for Server-Side Dynamic Ad Insertion (SSDAI) which allows the replacement of existing commercials from a broadcast stream with more targeted, personalized advertising.
RTL Group says the SSDAI (Server-Side Dynamic Ad Insertion) is expected to become the standard to serve advertising spots in premium streaming environments. The Yospace technology currently serves major media owners throughout Europe, the United States, and Asia. Customers include BT Sport, TV4, ITV, and Seven West Media.
“The acquisition of Yospace is an important step in building out our Total Video portfolio and will help drive two strategic goals at the same time. First, we gain a competitive, fully integrated and profitable solution which is key to further grow our ad-tech business. Our goal is to continue expanding SpotX into a leading, independent monetization platform for broadcasters, video on demand services and publishers. Secondly, this acquisition will also help build local streaming champions in the markets where we have strong families of channels. The Yospace technology makes advertising on streaming services more personal, which means a better consumer experience for superior monetization of our premium advertising inventory.”
Bert Habets, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of RTL Group
RTL Group will pay up to €29 million before cash and debt adjustments in connection with the full acquisition of Yospace, including upfront and performance related components.
Under the terms of the transaction, RTL Group will appoint three of five members to the Board of Yospace. Yospace CEO Tim Sewell and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) David Springall will continue to manage the day-to-day operations of the company, reporting to its Board.