Time Inc. to Buy User Data Firm Viant

Publishing giant Time Inc. is to acquire marketing platform Viant, in a deal which will combine the former's content, subscriber data and advertising inventory with the latter's data from 1.2 billion registered users, as well as programmatic capabilities. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Through Viant's cloud-based platform, marketers can plan, execute and measure their digital media investments. The firm also owns and operates several digital ad technology and media companies including Myspace, Specific Media, Vindico, and Xumo. Time Inc. claims that the acquisition will bolster Viant's pool of registration data with its own subscriber database, to create a first party dataset that rivals Facebook and Google. In addition, Viant's advertising cloud will provide Time Inc. with programmatic ad technology combined with people-based data management, targeting, and advanced analytics.

Describing the deal as a 'game changer', Time Inc. Chairman and CEO Joe Ripp (pictured) said: 'Marketers are selecting media partners that have either data-driven capabilities or premium content; we will be able to deliver both in a single platform, and will stand apart from those that offer just one or the other. In other words, we will be able to deliver advertisers' messages targeted to optimal audiences across all types of devices, along with the ability to measure ROI.'

Web sites: www.timeinc.com and www.viantinc.com .