4C Insights, a Chicago data science and media technology company, is being acquired by New York-based advertising services and software company Mediaocean.
The two companies announced Monday that Mediaocean is acquiring 4C Insights, with The Wall Street Journal reporting that the deal was worth $150 million. The acquistion is expected to close later this month.
The acquisition will allow Mediaocean to integrate 4C Insight's intelligence and optimization capabilities into its platform for end-to-end media management that will establish a more modern system for omnichannel advertising.
4C Insights, founded by Alok Choudhary, Lance Neuhauser and Karan Khanna, specializes in second screen analytics, helping brands measure, monitor, and execute their campaigns across a variety of devices and mediums, including phones, tablets, TV, radio, and more.
4C Insights has raised $31 million since launching in 2011. It last raised $26 million in 2016 from Kayne Partners, Jump Capital and Prime Ventures.
The startup is Mediaocean’s 10th acquisition, according to the WSJ. Mediaocean has also bought New York-based Invision and Paris-based MBS, according to Crunchbase.
Though Mediaocean is based in New York, it was co-founded in 2006 by Brad Keywell, a well-known Chicago tech entrepreneur, who also co-founded Groupon and now leads local tech company Uptake. Mediaocean, led by CEO Bill Wise, raised $40.5 million before being acquired by Austin-based Vista Equity Partners in 2015. Mediaocean now employs 950 people.
"Joining Mediaocean is a game-changer for our clients and the industry, fulfilling the promise of true cross-channel advertising," said Neuhauser, 4C Insight's CEO, in a statement. "Marketers need to market the way consumers consume efficiently across all devices and screens. Mediaocean and 4C's combined solution will be the independent, self-serve platform to anchor marketers, agencies, publishers, and broadcasters across converged media."
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to show that the acquisition deal was worth $150 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.
