Zeta Pays $250m Plus for MarTech Firm LiveIntent

In the US, cloud-based marketing platform Zeta Global is to acquire targeted marketing firm LiveIntent, for a total of $250m, consisting of $77.5m in cash and $172.5m stock, with potential for additional cash and stock depending on performance up to 2027.

Zeta was founded in 2007 by David A. Steinberg and John Sculley and is headquartered in New York City with offices around the world. In 2018 it launched the Marketing Cloud, which combines identity, intelligence and omnichannel activation, backed by one of the industry's largest proprietary databases; and two weeks ago it launched a new solution tapping Snowflake's Data Clean Room to promise clients deterministic measurement of campaign performance and lift.

LiveIntent was founded in 2009 and uses proprietary technology including first-party identity solutions to tailor mobile-centric experiences and monetize audiences across channels. Zeta says its assets, publisher network and channel capabilities will bolster the Zeta Marketing Platform: LiveIntent's identity graph will be integrated into its new parent's Data Cloud, and its network of 2,000+ premium publishers will launch Zeta into the business of publisher monetization via a new product offering to be known as the Publisher Cloud. The buy is also expected to boost Zeta's newly released mobile and retail media solutions, helping marketers to unify identity across devices and channels, predict customer behavior and optimize their campaigns.

'We have gotten to know the LiveIntent team through our work with them over the past five years', says Steinberg (pictured), 'and have seen firsthand the benefits of their core assets and experienced the impact of their platform. As more brands view first party data as a corporate asset, seek to make AI actionable, and move towards a single platform that powers more efficient and effective marketing across the customer lifecycle, this acquisition accelerates Zeta's flywheel and positions the combined company to continue to grow faster than the market'. Matt Keiser, CEO of LiveIntent says the firms 'share a relentless focus on innovation and an aim to make AI-powered marketing actionable'.

Zeta, which also today reaffirmed its Q3 guidance at $255m revenue and at least $50.2m in adjusted EBITDA, is online at www.zetaglobal.com .