T-Mobile acquires Blis

Yesterday, March 4, 2025, T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) announced the acquisition of Blis, a privacy-centric advertising platform, for approximately $175 million in cash before customary adjustments. The transaction successfully closed on March 3, 2025, just one day prior to the public announcement, according to the official press release issued by T-Mobile.

The Blis acquisition follows T-Mobile's previous purchase of Vistar Media, a digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising technology provider. The Vistar Media acquisition was completed exactly one month earlier, on February 3, 2025, demonstrating T-Mobile's aggressive expansion strategy in the advertising technology sector.

Founded in the United Kingdom in 2004, Blis has developed a distinctive approach to digital advertising by structuring data based on geography rather than identity. This methodology links real-world actions to digital behaviors, enabling advertisers to connect with audiences that might be missed by traditional identity-based solutions.

"Joining T-Mobile marks an exciting new chapter for Blis and a significant step forward in our mission to reshape advertising with privacy-first, future-proof technology," said Greg Isbister, CEO of Blis. "With Blis' advanced omnichannel targeting capabilities alongside T-Mobile's scale and rich dataset, we're even better positioned to directly connect advertisers to premium inventory across all screens."

Isbister founded Blis Media Limited in 2004 and has served as its Chief Executive Officer since inception. Under his leadership, the company has grown to employ over 300 staff across 14 offices in 11 countries, establishing itself as a significant player in the global advertising technology landscape.

The acquisition represents a substantial enhancement to T-Mobile's advertising capabilities at a critical time when traditional tracking methods face increasing limitations. With the gradual elimination of third-party cookies and growing privacy regulations, advertisers are seeking alternative methods for reaching targeted audiences.

Blis' technology offers a solution by utilizing geographic data rather than personal identifiers, aligning with evolving privacy expectations while maintaining targeting effectiveness. According to industry sources, Blis was "aggressively road tested against some of the market's big DSPs [demand-side platforms] and destroyed them all on performance" before T-Mobile finalized the acquisition.

JP Colaco, Senior Vice President and Chief T-Ads Officer at T-Mobile, emphasized the strategic importance of the acquisition: "Acquiring Vistar Media and Blis marks a significant step forward in T-Mobile's strategy to create truly transformative advertising solutions that are built by marketers for marketers. Advertising is at its best when it cultivates deeper, authentic connections between brands and consumers."

The acquisition also strengthens T-Mobile's own marketing capabilities. As one of the largest advertisers in the United States, T-Mobile manages complex campaigns across multiple business units and products.

"We need ad solutions that are both consumer-friendly and capable of delivering results at scale," explained Vinayak Hegde, Consumer Chief Marketing Officer at T-Mobile. "Our early pilots with Blis showed us the power of its addressability, especially on mobile devices where standard identifiers fall short."

T-Mobile's advertising solutions business has evolved from internal innovations into a substantial revenue generator, currently producing over $1 billion in annual revenue. The acquisitions of Blis and Vistar Media are expected to contribute approximately $250 million in revenue, $75 million in EBITDA, and $50 million in free cash flow this year, representing additional upside to the company's financial guidance.

The strategic framework behind these acquisitions leverages T-Mobile's unique assets – embedded customer relationships, broad distribution, strong brand affinity, and its advanced 5G network – to unlock opportunities in new business areas.

By directly connecting advertisers to ad inventory across various screens, the Blis platform complements T-Mobile's end-to-end capabilities, making campaigns more efficient and empowering advertisers to reach more consumers in an increasingly fragmented advertising landscape.

The timing of this acquisition is particularly significant given the ongoing transformation in digital advertising. As traditional targeting signals like cookies continue to diminish, advertisers face growing challenges in reaching and engaging relevant audiences effectively.

Blis' technology helps address these challenges through its privacy-centric, geography-based approach. Rather than relying on personal identifiers that may become unavailable or restricted, Blis structures data based on geography, linking real-world actions to digital behaviors.

This approach enables advertisers to connect with audiences that might be missed by ID-based solutions, ensuring greater accuracy and efficiency in a post-cookie advertising environment. The company describes its platform as "radically different" precisely because it doesn't rely on traditional identity-based targeting methods.

For T-Mobile, which possesses vast amounts of first-party data through its telecommunications services, combining this data with Blis' targeting capabilities creates powerful synergies for enhancing both its own marketing efforts and advertising solutions offered to external clients.

The acquisition has generated significant interest within the advertising technology sector, with industry observers noting that it validates the quality of European ad tech innovation. Ciarán O'Kane, General Partner at FirstPartyCapital, described the deal as "another vindication of European ad tech."

Several industry professionals commented positively on the acquisition, with Arthur Cole, COO at Lumen Research, noting that T-Mobile is "building up a solid stack over there after the Octopus buy." Other commentators specifically congratulated the Blis senior management team on achieving a successful exit after years of hard work developing the company.

The acquisition was advised by several prominent financial and legal firms. Allen & Company LLC served as T-Mobile's financial advisor with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP providing legal counsel. Houlihan Lokey acted as financial advisor to Blis, with DLA Piper serving as legal counsel.

Looking ahead, T-Mobile has indicated its intention to continue expanding its advertising technology capabilities, with Colaco stating that the company will "have more European ad tech to sell you over the next few years." This suggests that further acquisitions may be forthcoming as T-Mobile continues to build out its advertising technology stack.

At its core, Blis offers advanced omnichannel targeting capabilities that enable advertisers to connect with audiences across multiple platforms. The company's technology focuses on delivering measurable performance through future-proof solutions that don't rely on traditional tracking methods.

With approximately 300 employees across 14 offices in 11 countries, Blis brings substantial technical expertise and global reach to T-Mobile's advertising business. The company's standalone demand-side platform (DSP) is built on proprietary location capabilities, providing a differentiated offering in the programmatic advertising marketplace.

T-Mobile intends to integrate Blis' technology with its existing advertising platforms, including the recently acquired Vistar Media's programmatic out-of-home solutions. This integration will create a comprehensive advertising ecosystem capable of reaching consumers across digital, mobile, and physical environments.

Vistar's advanced programmatic out-of-home platform will complement Blis' capabilities by helping T-Mobile "change the game in DOOH advertising." With T-Mobile's customer insights and data, Vistar's end-to-end tech platform and scale will connect digital messaging to real-world environments, amplifying reach and engagement and improving campaign measurability.

The combined solution will offer marketers an integrated approach to omnichannel advertising, addressing the increasingly fragmented nature of media consumption across devices and platforms.

Timeline

• 2004: Greg Isbister founds Blis Media Limited in the United Kingdom
• February 3, 2025: T-Mobile completes acquisition of Vistar Media
• March 3, 2025: T-Mobile finalizes acquisition of Blis for approximately $175 million
• March 4, 2025: T-Mobile publicly announces the Blis acquisition
• 2025 Outlook: The combined acquisitions expected to contribute $250 million in revenue, $75 million in EBITDA, and $50 million in free cash flow to T-Mobile's financial results