Blackstone Announces Agreement to Acquire Vungle, a Leading Mobile Performance Marketing Platform
NEW YORK, July 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackstone (NYSE:BX) announced today that private equity funds managed by Blackstone ("Blackstone") have agreed to acquire Vungle, a leading performance marketing platform for in-app video advertisements on mobile devices.
Vungle is trusted by publishers of more than 60,000 mobile apps worldwide, including top brands such as Rovio, Zynga, Pandora, Microsoft, and Scopely, among others. The company serves more than 4 billion video views per month over a billion unique devices, and is consistently ranked #1 for cross-platform user retention by industry mobile performance indexes. Vungle is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in London, Berlin, Beijing, Tokyo, Singapore and Seoul.
Sachin Bavishi, Principal at Blackstone, said, "As a best-in-class performance marketing platform, Vungle represents a key growth engine for the mobile app ecosystem. Our investment will help deliver on the company's tremendous growth potential and we look forward to partnering with management to extend Vungle's strength across mobile gaming and other performance brands."
Martin Brand, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, added, "Blackstone is excited to invest in a leader focused on the intersection of the rapidly expanding mobile gaming and mobile advertising spaces. We look forward to contributing Blackstone's resources to accelerate Vungle's growth trajectory in the years ahead."
Rick Tallman, CEO of Vungle, said: "We are extremely excited about our new partnership with Blackstone. Blackstone's acquisition will further accelerate Vungle's mission to be the trusted guide for growth and engagement, transforming how users discover and experience mobile apps. We would like to thank Crosslink Capital and Thomvest Ventures for their support in building Vungle into a market leader. As we look ahead at the significant opportunity in the in-app mobile advertising market, with Blackstone's support, we will aggressively expand our global platform through organic and inorganic growth."
In connection with the transaction, Vungle has also reached a settlement agreement with founder Zain Jaffer and is pleased to have this matter resolved. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The transaction is expected to close later this year, subject to customary closing conditions. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is serving as financial advisor to Vungle and Guggenheim Securities, LLC is serving as financial advisor to Blackstone on the transaction. DLA Piper LLP (US) is serving as legal advisor to Vungle and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is serving as legal advisor to Blackstone.
About Blackstone
Blackstone is one of the world's leading investment firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies in which we invest, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our businesses, with $512 billion in assets under management, include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on twitter @Blackstone.
About Vungle
Vungle is the trusted guide for growth and engagement, transforming how people discover and experience apps. Mobile application developers partner with Vungle to monetize their apps through innovative in-app ad experiences that are inspired by insight and crafted with creativity. Advertisers depend on Vungle to reach, acquire, and retain high-value users worldwide. Vungle develops tools that include data-led buying and UX recommendations, ad format innovation, creative automation, and more. Vungle's data-optimized ads run on over 1 billion unique devices to drive engagement and increase returns for publishers and advertisers ranging from indie studios to powerhouse brands, including Rovio, Zynga, Pandora, Microsoft, and Scopely. The company is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices around the world in London, Berlin, Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore. For more information, visit www.vungle.com or follow the company on Twitter @Vungle
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