InMobi buys Pinsight Media in all-stock deal to aid expansion plan in US

Acquisition of the unit to give Bengaluru firm access to teleco's data platform to cater to US market

InMobi, India's leading mobile marketing and advertising platform firm, on Wednesday, acquired Pinsight Media, a mobile data analytics and advertising unit of US-based telecom major Sprint Corp, in an all-stock deal. 

The acquisition will give the SoftBank-backed Indian firm a stronger foothold in North America, access to Pinsight's clients and its unique mobile advertising and intelligence platform build around proprietary user data. 

Pinsight was incubated in 2012 within Sprint, the fourth largest telecom company in the US with an estimated subscriber base of 60 million. The Kansas City-based firm works with telecom companies, including Sprint, and advertisers across consumer goods, retail, entertainment and finance. 

As part of the deal, Sprint will own a ‘small minority stake’ in InMobi, though the company did not divulge the exact quantum. The home-grown unicorn said the acquisition is part of a broader partnership between itself and Sprint "across devices, data, media and marketing". The acquisition is also expected to catapult it to the league of companies that are known for their software in managing marketing, such as Adobe and Salesforce.

“Sprint’s partnership with InMobi goes beyond this acquisition. We have been looking for a strategic partner that can deliver the latest digital marketing and mobile advertising technologies, besides having a deep appreciation of regulatory, privacy, and data concerns,” said Rob Roy, chief digital officer at Sprint, in a statement.

The latest development reinforces InMobi's aggressive expansion plan in the US and other international markets. It also follows InMobi's takeover of California-based AerServ, another mobile-focused tech advertising start-up, for $90 million earlier in January, and recent partnership with Microsoft for cloud computing and co-development of marketing tools.

Established in 2007, InMobi offers a sophisticated platform to enterprises and marketers in India and several international markets.

With Pinshigt platform and database under its belt now, InMobi can expand on insights and consumer mobile behavior through the former’s user base in the US. 

”With this acquisition, we are creating the most powerful advertising and marketing platform for the US market by unifying online and offline behavior, and providing CMOs with a way to reach and engage consumers, while remaining compliant with privacy and data protection requirements,” said Naveen Tewari, founder and chief executive officer at InMobi.