AT&T announced this morning that is was purchasing AppNexus for $1.6B. My initial reaction reaction was that AT&T is paying for data, otherwise although AppNexus is a great Adtech platform its hard to justify the valuation. Below is an email which AppNexus sent to employees and partners. The email which is not public, discusses the sale. What do you think? Comment below
REDACTED@ appnexus.com Mon, Jun 25, 2018 at 8:08 AM
Subject: AT&T + AppNexus
This morning, several news outlets broke an exciting story: AT&T, a Fortune 10 company that owns extensive communications, data, and global media businesses, has signed an agreement with us to acquire AppNexus.
We chose to align ourselves strategically with AT&T because we believe that media, advertising, and technology are at an inflection point. This new partnership presents exciting opportunities to enrich our marketplace with AT&T’s first-party data, premium content, and scaled distribution across 170 million direct to consumer relationships globally.
We entered into this partnership secure in the knowledge that AT&T is committed to maintaining a vibrant third-party ecosystem. Indeed, they especially value our deep relationships with the world’s leading publishers, advertisers, and technology companies, both in the United States and internationally across Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. We—and they—remain committed to working with digital publishers, advertisers, technology and data companies around the world.
Until the deal closes, AppNexus continues to operate as its own company. That means for the time being, it’s business as usual.
Your business means a great deal to me and the entire AppNexus team, and I want to assure you that it continues to be our greatest priority.
As always, please reach out to your account representative with any questions or concerns, and know that our executives are available to work with you and your team as we plan for this next exciting chapter together.
b
