TOMORROW FOCUS AG has acquired a further 37.8 percent to its previous 18
percent of the shares of AdJug Ltd. from shareholders. Balderton Capital,
the founders and some business angels have sold shares totalling 37.4
percent.
This acquisition gives TOMORROW FOCUS AG a 55.8 percent stake in AdJug Ltd.
The majority of the remaining shares are held by founders Michael
Stephanblome and Satish Jayakumar who will stay in the business and
continue the aggressive growth the business has seen over the last two
years.
AdJug currently operates two ad exchanges for online performance
advertising in the UK and Germany. AdJug has built a proprietary ad server
and multiple currency exchange technology which enables online publishers
to clear their unsold inventory and agencies and advertisers to efficiently
buy online campaigns on real time basis on such unsold inventory. AdJug has
also developed its own real time conversion tracking, auto optimisation,
remarketing and behavioural targeting systems. Using this technology, AdJug
gives agencies and advertisers complete data transparency and control by
allowing them to measure the campaign performance on site or ad space level
and optimise accordingly.
Launching in November 2007, the AdJug ad exchange currently trades over
three billion ad impressions per month in more than 5000 remnant publisher
placements in the United Kingdom and Germany. The company has grown to 54
people in 3 countries with offices in London, Munich and Bangalore.
The majority acquisition of AdJug adds another cornerstone to TOMORROW
FOCUS AG's digital marketing unit in Germany in the area of performance
marketing, in addition to the established premium marketing business of
TOMORROW FOCUS Sales. The German units will remain legally independent
because of their different marketing approaches, but will work even more
closely together. AdJug will focus exclusively on marketing remnant display
advertising space for the majority of TOMORROW FOCUS AG's advertising
inventory.
Members of the Board will be Christoph Schuh (Chairman), Dr. Klaus Hommels,
Stefan Winners, Michael Stephanblome, Satish Jayakumar, Dr. Philipp Goos
and René Rechtman.
Christoph Schuh, CMO of TOMORROW FOCUS AG, commented:
'The majority
acquisition of AdJug is an important strategic step in the expansion of our
performance marketing. It will strengthen our position as one of the most
important online marketing companies in Germany, while giving us a stake in
a proprietary ad serving and exchange technology and also international
access to the strongly growing business segment of performance marketing.
AdJug has developed very rapidly since its establishment about two years
ago - for the coming year we already see potential for sales revenues of an
eight-digit euro figure. Our next step is to expand our German business
significantly, and to invest further in increasing our staff numbers.'
Michael Stephanblome, CEO and Co-Founder of AdJug Ltd said:
'With the help
of TOMORROW FOCUS, we will be able to fulfill our vision of a European
online exchange for display advertising. This strategic partnership will
accelerate our strong growth and enable us to aggressively expand AdJug
further internationally. We also see a big potential for AdJug to
collaborate on advertising technology and to help the e-commerce businesses
of TOMORROW FOCUS with regards to user acquisition and retention.'
Dharmash Mistry, partner of Balderton Capital, commented:
'Michael and
Satish have built an innovative and market leading online advertising
exchange in the UK. As the model further scales, especially in Germany,
TOMORROW FOCUS AG will significantly advantage the business: They bring
synergy and scale in their local German market. This is an obvious next
step for the company.'
About AdJug:
AdJug Ltd., based in London, Munich and Bangalore, operates an automated
internet advertising exchange. AdJug helps advertisers and owners of
websites to link up more easily and to buy and sell advertising space and
advertisements transparently at www.adjug.com and www.adjug.de.
AdJug currently trades over 3 billion ad impressions in the UK and Germany,
making it one of the biggest ad exchanges. AdJug was launched in Germany in
January 2009, and already has an advertising inventory of more than a
billion ad impressions. AdJug was founded in 2007 by Satish Jayakumar and
Michael Stephanblome to optimise the trade in online advertising carried
out on advertising networks, and to create an exchange platform for direct
contact between advertisers/agencies and publishers.
AdJug's objective is to become Europe's leading exchange for digital
advertising.