Engage, AdAuction.com Form Strategic Alliance

In a deal that brings together two big players in the Internet ad business, Engage Technologies, a CMGI (CMGI) operating company, and AdAuction.com on Wednesday forged a wide-ranging alliance to expand the reach of each of their companies.

The deal calls for Engage (ENGA) to manage Adauction.com’s portfolio of run-of-network and run-of-category inventory, expanding Engage’s reach. The Adauction.com network will also contribute anonymous consumer data to Engage Knowledge, a database of 52 million user profiles.

“This agreement with Adauction.com builds on the significant growth that we’ve experienced by expanding the reach of Engage’s network properties and the size of our anonymous online profile database,” said Paul Schaut, president and chief executive officer of Engage.

In addition, Engage has agreed to list its online media products on the Adauction.com exchange. Its ad serving division, AdKnowledge, will also help Adauction.com to enhance its current buy-side ad serving needs.

“Media buyers and sellers are looking for opportunities to optimize their client services and products, and we are evolving to meet their needs,” said Jerry Machovina, president and chief executive officer of Adauction.com.

The listing of Engage’s properties greatly expands the media offerings available through our exchange.”

The two companies will collaborate on sales and marketing to promote joint offerings. Financial details of the deal weren’t disclosed.