Bought by Chinese consortium led by Zhiyong Zhang.
Mumbai added two more individuals to its billionaires’ list, on Monday. The advertising technology startup of two Mumbai-born siblings has been acquired by a Chinese consortium.
According to a report in The Times of India, Media.net, the advertising technology company owned by 34-year-old Divyank Turakhia and his older brother Bhavin, 36, has been acquired by a consortium led by Zhiyong Zhang, chairman of Beijing Miteno Communication Technology in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $900 million.
“This completes the first step toward Media.net being acquired by, and integrated into, Beijing-based Miteno,” said Media.net.
The deal is one of the largest acquisitions in the advertisement technology industry. Media.net currently manages more than $450M of annual advertising revenue via its platform and had made a profit of $232 million in 2015.
With seven offices worldwide, including global headquarters in Dubai, and U.S. headquarters in New York City, Media.net has more than 800 employees, up from 650 in 2015. About 90 percent of the company’s revenue comes from the U.S and more than 50 percent of its revenue is generated from mobile users.
“Our team has spent the last several years putting together one of the most comprehensive platforms for ad tech, and we are just getting started,” said Div Turakhia, Media.net’s founder, and CEO.
“The acquisition will enable Media.net to be an even greater platform for innovation and investment on a global scale. Together, we can accelerate the company’s growth and deploy new products and services that will add value for our customers. Media.net’s leadership team and employees are excited to enter into this new phase of growth,” he added.
A serial entrepreneur with a proven track record of performance, Div Turakhia has had several lucrative exits prior to this deal. In 2014, Endurance International Group bought four brands that he co-founded with his brother, Bhavin Turakhia, for approximately $160M. Div Turakhia started his first internet business in 1996 at age 14, made his first $1M at 18, first $100M at 23, and now crossed his first $1B at the age of 34.
Media.net will continue to operate under Div Turakhia and its current management team and retain the business model and culture that have fueled the company’s success.
“Online advertising continues to be a double-digit growth industry, despite already being one of the largest revenue-generating businesses online. However, the ad-tech industry is notoriously compartmentalized and fractured across technologies, companies, and geographies. It is impossible for publishers and advertisers to work with single-feature or single-product vendors without losing material efficiencies and increasing costs,” said Zhiyong Zhang.
“In evaluating this deal, we looked at Media.net’s smart investments over many years to build a large and comprehensive technology stack to escape these trends. Media.net has a proven track record of year-over-year growth, superior technology, and solid position to continue to grow in the future. The company’s success in the U.S., which is arguably the world’s most competitive ad-tech market, is impressive. We look forward to propelling Media.net’s growth in China,” he added.