Home Data Experian Buys Device ID Firm 41st Parameter for $324M, Gets AdTruth In The Bargain

Experian Buys Device ID Firm 41st Parameter for $324M, Gets AdTruth In The Bargain

SHARE:

adtruth-experianDid you notice? Experian just bought a cross-device ad tracking — ahem — fraud-prevention vendor.

The credit-reporting and marketing giant laid out $324 million to nab 41st Parameter, a security and fraud-detection business that guards against unauthorized purchases, among other things. Importantly, 41st Parameter also runs an ad-tracking brand, AdTruth, that hawks the same basic software but for a different purpose and under a different brand identity.

In its deal announcement today, Experian chose to focus on the security business – calling out 41st Parameter’s adoption by financial, retail and travel customers. But the ad opportunity is significant and clearly connected to Experian’s targeted marketing business.

AdTruth lets exchanges and other ad-tech players identify users across platforms and devices by connecting those devices to a user ID. Close to 70 clients license the technology to augment or replace the cookie where needed. Those customers include OpenX, PubMatic and AdForm. The company also has been fairly aggressive on the privacy issue, engaging with the Federal Trade Commission, TRUSTe and the Digital Advertising Alliance.

41st Parameter’s license agreements typically span two to three years, and renewal rates surpass 95%, Experian noted in an investor release. Its two-year compounded growth rate is 40% and the company is on a $26 million run rate for 2013. It’s not clear how much of that revenue comes from security/fraud business and how much from AdTruth.

A source close to Experian said the company will market 41st Parameter’s AdTruth product through its enterprise marketing group, while the cybersecurity offering will be part of a business unit within its decision analytics group.

“Experian believes there is considerable opportunity to drive adoption rates of 41st Parameter’s products through cross-selling to Experian’s existing client base, by leveraging Experian’s wide geographic footprint and through the combination of device identification into Experian’s existing identity-management products,” the company said in a statement.

Must Read

Comic: Gamechanger (Google lost the DOJ's search antitrust case)

DOJ v. Google: How Judge Brinkema Seems To Be Thinking After Week One

Where the DOJ v. Google ad tech antitrust trial stands after one week’s worth of remedies arguments.

Swish, A Company That's Bringing Programmatic to Product Sampling, Announces Seed Funding

Swish, a startup that partners with retailers to provide product full-size CPG samples to people doing their grocery shopping online, announces $2.3 million in seed funding.

DOJ v. Google: During Opening Arguments, The DOJ And Google Battle Over An AdX Divestiture

Court is back in session. And the fate of  the open internet is in the balance.

Privacy! Commerce! Connected TV! Read all about it. Subscribe to AdExchanger Newsletters
Chris Mufarrige, director, Bureau of Consumer Protection, FTC

FTC Consumer Protection Chief: No Easy Answers On Privacy, ‘Only Trade-Offs’

Privacy isn’t black-and-white, says the FTC’s Chris Mufarrige, promising evidence-driven consumer protection cases under the Trump administration.

How Encryption Keys Could Resolve The TID Furor

Rather than sharing universal TIDs that any DSP or curator can access, Raptive says publishers should instead share encrypted TIDs with an encryption key provided only to trusted demand-side partners.

Clear Channel Brings Mid-Flight Measurement To Its OOH Network

Clear Channel will provide advertisers weekly, mid-flight reports on outcomes driven by its inventory in order to bring OOH measurement closer to the speed of digital.