Europe's Gruner + Jahr acquires mobile ad network Seventynine

Networkplay, the Indian arm of Europe-based printer and publisher Gruner + Jahr, has acquired mobile ad-network- Seventynine from Smile Vun Group. The financial details of the deals were not disclosed.

Seventynine will be an independent business unit under the Networkplay umbrella, with its management reporting directly into the board. The co-founders of Seventynine, Chirag Shah and Deven Dharamdasani will continue to lead the business post the buy-out.

Seventynine is G+J’s second digital acquisition in India after Networkplay, which was acquired by G+J earlier this year. Gruner + Jahr, in a press statement said, it intends to strengthen its digital presence in the Indian market and Seventynine’s acquisition will help G+J and Networkplay fortify their competence and position in the mobile space.

Torsten-Jörn Klein, President, Gruner+Jahr International said “The expansion of Networkplay in the mobile space through the acquisition of Seventynine is clearly following our strategic commitment to grow our mobile business in the Indian market. G+J believes that in the Indian market, one of the fastest growing digital markets, the mobile segment will gain increasing importance. G+J is looking forward to further expand in that area together with Networkplay and the Seventynine team.”

Seventynine was launched in April 2012 by Smile Vun Group with an extensive focus on rich media inventory especially videos and HTML5. The mobile ad-network recorded its first milestone in July 2012 when it clocked growth by serving 700 million ad requests within three months of operation.

Seventynine is currently serving 1.8 billion ad requests and focusing actively on building inventories across mobile applications and mobile web. Apart from an ad-platform, Seventynine also possesses Seventynine App Analytics Service and Predictive Analytics Engine.

In the new group, Seventynine’s immediate focus would be technology, product and expansion in South East Asia and West Asia.