Germany's Axel Springer Buys eMarketer

Online information tracker and publisher eMarketer is to be acquired by German publishing giant Axel Springer in a deal valuing it at more than $250m.

eMarketer is based in New York, and provides analysis and forecasting to help clients 'navigate the digital revolution in marketing, media and commerce'. Its global coverage has been built out strongly in the last four years following investment, and two years ago it struck a deal with WPP to provide the latter's operating companies with access its global database.

Berlin-based Axel Springer says the deal expands its US presence, already bolstered by the $343m purchase of a majority stake in Business Insider last year, and investment in the mobile shopping platform Retale. eMarketer will gain better access to Europe and other international markets

eMarketer Chairman and co-founder Geoff Ramsey comments: 'Given eMarketer's mission to help marketers, we are thrilled about the opportunity to team up with Axel Springer to supercharge our growth and continue to enhance our product offering for clients on a larger, global scale'. Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner says of the deal: 'As more and more industries are facing the challenge of digitization, the smart creation, processing, and presentation of relevant market information is becoming increasingly important. eMarketer is a long-established, successful, and profitable publisher of high-quality digital market data and is excellently positioned to benefit from these market developments'.

Web sites: www.emarketer.com .