AT&T to acquire AppNexus for its digital ad platform

AT&T agreed to acquire AppNexus, which operates a leading global advertising marketplace and provides enterprise products for digital advertising, Media reports valued the deal at $1.6 billion.

AppNexus, which is based in New York City,  claims to have over 34,000 publishers and 177,000 brands in its marketplace, with 11.4 billion impressions transacted daily. This translates into 6 million queries processed per second, and 250 TB of data processed daily.

AppNexus will become a part of AT&T advertising & analytics, led by Brian Lesser, CEO.  which operates a leading global advertising marketplace and provides enterprise products for digital advertising – serving publishers, a
“Ad tech unites real-time analytics and technology with our premium TV and video content,” said Lesser. “So, we went out and found the strongest player in the space. AppNexus has scale of infrastructure, advanced technology and diverse talent. The combination of AT&T advertising & analytics and AppNexus will help deliver a world-class advertising platform that provides brands and publishers a new and innovative way to reach consumers in the marketplace today.”

“Innovation is core to the heritage of both AT&T and AppNexus, and we have an exciting opportunity to chart the future course of advertising together,” said Brian O’Kelley, CEO, AppNexus. “Combining AT&T’s incredible assets with our technology, we will help brands and marketers power new advertising experiences for consumers. It’s what the market is asking for, and together we’re poised to deliver it.”