WPP increases stake in AppNexus with $25m investment

22nd Sep 2014 07:50

Communications giant WPP has unveiled plans to invest $25m in AppNexus in return for a larger stake.As part of the deal, which will reportedly increase its interest in the New York-based company from less than 1% to almost 15%, WPP will transfer its Xaxis For Publishers business to the US group.The disposal of the business will enable Xaxis to focus its development resources on core data technology and media products, "while more closely aligning with a strong, independent ad serving partner", it said.Xaxis will continue to develop its own proprietary platform including its Turbine DMP, analytics suite, and reporting and optimisation technology."The investment continues WPP's strategy of investing in fast-growing sectors such as ad technology and programmatic media buying," the group chief executive Martin Sorrel said."By taking a greater stake in AppNexus, WPP further cements its leadership position in ad tech and programmatic targeting and supports an independent ad tech ecosystem that is of more value to clients than the "walled garden" solutions offered by AppNexus' competitors, the largest of which are also media companies."AppNexus, which specialises in real-time online advertising, currently delivers more than 30bn ad impressions per day and predicts its annual spending across its platform will exceed $2bn this year.Xaxis's parent company, media investment management firm GroupM, is a client of AppNexus.