Australian telco Telstra has acquired video-monetization, streaming-video and content-management company Ooyala, the companies revealed Monday.
Telstra had already invested $61 million for a 23% stake in Ooyala, which works with supply-side inventory partners and publishers to help monetize video content, and now owns 98% for an additional $270 million investment. Read the release.
The acquisition, which is expected to close in 60 days, reflects a growing need for technology that can handle the conflation of online video and TV inventory.
“As the world’s collective definition of TV and video blurs across multiple devices and a more personalized viewing experience, the technologies and measurement tools for content delivery and monetization will evolve,” Ooyala CEO Jay Fulcher wrote in a post announcing the acquisition.
Fulcher will continue in his current role and will serve on the board of directors along with Ooyala EVP and co-founder Sean Knapp. Ooyala will have its own board and it will operate under separate governance from Telstra.
This acquisition is yet another example of an APAC telco buying a Western ad tech company. Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) recently snapped up ad network Kontera and cross-channel advertising company Adconion to ramp up its mobile ads division Amobee. These moves recall a prediction by Richard Nunn, a former investment banker and COO of UK-based video ads platform Coull: “Over the next 18 months, you’ll see some big buyers in the East buying Western-based technology businesses.”
Ooyala has 330 employees and 45% of its business is international. Founded in 2007, companies that use the Ooyala Platform and services to monetize their video assets include ESPN, Univision and Yahoo Japan.
