Kantar Buys German Online Measurement Firm

In Germany, Kantar Media has acquired Internet audience measurement firm Spring Wirtz und Pischke, which was founded as a spin-off of the German Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) in 1995.

Based in Saarlouis, the firm offers site-centric and user-centric Internet measurement, online research and analysis. Its technology and tools have already been deployed by several Kantar Media services in Austria, Germany, Norway, Singapore and Switzerland.

Additionally, Spring is already a technology partner in Kantar Media's recently announced VirtualMeter two-screen technology for the measurement of online TV. The firm's unaudited gross revenues for the year ended 31 December 2010 were EUE 1.8m.

Company co-founder and MD Oliver Pischke (pictured) and his team will continue to be based in Germany, and Spring's management will report to Isabel Serrano, Global Strategy & Development Director at Kantar Media Audiences.

Richard Marks, Global CEO, Kantar Media Audiences comments: 'Spring will complement our technology portfolio perfectly, bringing all the necessary skills and qualities to help us enrich our global digital strategy and expertise in online audience measurement and insight.'

Web sites: www.kantarmedia-audiences.com and www.spring.de .