Smart Adserver acquires German DSP LiquidM

Date: December, 18th, 2019

French Smart Adserver Acquires German DSP LiquidM from Bertelsmann to enhance its platform and offer efficient media buying tools for advertisers, agencies and trading desks.

Clipperton acted as sole financial advisor to Smart Adserver.

  • Smart is the leading independent ad monetization platform built for premium publishers to serve demanding buyers, with presence in 12 countries
  • The acquisition will enable Smart Adserver to build a leading independent ad monetization platform aiming at aligning supply and demand to deliver financial and operational efficiency to advertisers and digital publishers
  • The transaction highlights Clipperton’s expertise in cross-border M&A transactions, especially Franco-German deals, after a series of technology transactions in the past months: Sculpteo sold to BASF, givve sold to Up Group, acquisition of Cheerz by Cewe

Paris, December 20, 2019 — Leading European technology investment bank Clipperton is pleased to announce its role as financial advisor to Smart Adserver in the acquisition of LiquidM, the Bertelsmann-owned, global Demand Side Platform (DSP) based in Berlin. LiquidM’s technology will be integrated into Smart’s technology stack to offer digital advertisers, agencies and trading desks enhanced access to premium publishers’ inventory across all major supply sources.

“Our industry currently faces a crisis of value erosion that puts increasing pressure on the entire programmatic ecosystem. Buyers seek transparency, accountability and more value from their media investments while publishers yearn to better monetize their core assets, including audience and 1st party data,” says Arnaud Créput, CEO of Smart AdServer. “LiquidM’s proven record in innovation will boost Smart’s commitment to creating Value Path Optimization emphasizing full transactional transparency. This will enable conflict-free, premium value and low-fee buying so both advertisers and publishers can flourish in a shared-interest approach.”

LiquidM’s mature technology will accelerate Smart’s product development to better serve the needs of publishers and advertisers contending with strategic shifts in the market.

By providing deal management, audience discovery, and data activation & control, Smart will build the advertising and data safe haven for publishers and advertisers to grow their programmatic advertising businesses with consumer privacy as the cornerstone of the platform.

“We are very pleased to join Smart,” said Philipp Simon and Thomas Hille, Managing Directors of LiquidM. “They are an ideal partner to grow our business given their premium publisher clients and their strong global footprint. We look forward to enlisting in Smart’s mission to bring even greater value to both advertisers and publishers.”

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About Clipperton

Clipperton is a European independent corporate finance advisory firm exclusively dedicated to the Technology space, advising high growth companies on M&A transactions, debt financings and equity offerings. With offices in London, Berlin, and Paris and an international reach, Clipperton is a European leader in Technology financial advisory. Over the past 15 years, the team has successfully completed more than 300 high profile transactions globally.

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