To give a push to its advertising revenues, India’s most valued startup and the biggest e-com player, Flipkart, has today acquired Mobile advertising platform, Adiquity for an undisclosed amount.
Adiquity, which started in 2006, is a mobile-focused advertising platform which lets mobile app developers earn revenues by using their app database to create innovative advertisement solutions. It also provides its platform to mobile advertisers, so as to help them achieve their client’s traffic requirements.
The company had raised a staggering $7 Million round back in 2006 (which was a big round considering the period it was raised), and raised another $8 Million two years later. These investments were backed by Sequoia and Sandstone Capital respectively.
A Flipkart spokesperson said,
M&A is a key focus for us this year. AdIQuity has a history of mobile innovations, extremely valuable experience in the ad space and a talented tech team – all of which are a great strategic fit for Flipkart.
And this isn’t the only acquisition. A Flipkart spokesperson to us that give Flipkart’s “concentration on mobile”, companies that have made a mark in this space “will be on our radar“. That tells us, that we may be hearing a few more acquisition in the mobile space, in near future.
While the financials of the current deal are still wrapped in sheets, it will be interesting to see as to how that part plays out. If the deal turns out to be a cash+stock deal, this would imply that Sequoia and Sandstone will get equity into India’s biggest (and $15 Billion valued) e-commerce player.
In terms of acquisition, this is Flipkart 2nd big acquisition, after its famed Myntra deal. Moreover, acquiring Adiquity hints toward Flipkart adding new business forte under its belt, in a probable move to further diversify business from core e-commerce.
We’ve contacted both Flipkart and Adiquity, and will update the story if we receive a statement.
