Roku to acquire dataxu

Roku to Acquire dataxu to Strengthen Industry-Leading OTT Advertising Platform

LOS GATOS, Calif. — Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to purchase Boston-based dataxu, a demand-side platform (DSP) that enables marketers to plan and buy video ad campaigns.

dataxu provides marketers with an automated bidding and self-serve software solution to manage ad campaigns programmatically across digital platforms. dataxu utilizes advanced TV and OTT media planning tools, a proprietary device graph, and data science to help marketers optimize for business outcomes across TV, OTT, desktop and mobile.

As the No. 1 U.S. TV streaming platform by hours streamed, Roku streams more ad-supported hours than any other OTT platform, according to a June 2019 comScore analysis. With more than 30.5 million active accounts as of June 30, 2019, a direct consumer relationship, proprietary data and inventory, and advertising technology built directly into its operating system, Roku is already a top OTT ad solutions provider to Ad Age Top 200 marketers.

The acquisition of dataxu’s platform will complement Roku’s industry-leading OTT advertising platform and enable Roku to provide marketers a single, data-driven software solution to plan, buy, and optimize their ad spend across TV and OTT providers. dataxu brings an experienced team – including strong talent in software engineering, data science and analytics – to work with new and existing marketers on Roku’s proven advertising platform.

In Forrester’s New Wave: Cross-Channel Video Advertising Platforms 2019 report, dataxu recently received highest scores for its current offering in cross-channel video advertising. dataxu was the only platform in the report to earn a “differentiated” rating in all five of the following categories: OTT Buying, Video Buying, Audience Discovery, Measurement, and Product Roadmap.

Advertisers today spend more than $70 billion dollars on traditional TV. According to Magna Global, OTT accounts for 29 percent of TV viewing but so far has only captured three percent of TV ad budgets. As viewers continue to migrate to streaming, automated media buying solutions are expected to unlock more advertising investment into OTT.

“TV advertising is shifting toward OTT and a data-driven model focused on business outcomes for brands,” said Anthony Wood, chief executive officer at Roku. “The acquisition of dataxu will accelerate our ad platform while also helping our content partners monetize their inventory even more effectively.”

Terms

Under the terms of the agreement, Roku is purchasing dataxu for aggregate consideration of $150 million in cash and shares of Roku Class A Common Stock. The acquisition agreement has been approved by each company’s board of directors and is anticipated to close in the fourth quarter of 2019, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Roku will discuss the acquisition on its upcoming third quarter financial results conference call.