Opera Buys AdMarvel in Latest Mobile Acquisition

The mobile ad network acquisitions continued apace today as Opera Software announced it was buying AdMarvel.

Opera, which is based in Oslo, Norway, is in a race with Apple’s Safari to be the world’s dominant mobile browser. (Safari comes pre-loaded on the iPhone.) Acquiring San Mateo, CA-based mobile ad network AdMarvel — a company Opera has long worked with — allows it to shore up relationships with advertisers and expand its services.

Under the deal’s terms, Opera paid $8 million upfront, and agreed to a potential $15 million earn-out if certain aggressive financial targets are met within the next two years.

“Every month, nearly 50 million people access the Web using Opera on their mobile phones,” said Opera CEO Lars Boilesen, in a written statement, “and together with AdMarvel, we think we can play an important role in the evolution of mobile advertising.”

The deal comes on the heels of several other notable acquisitions in the mobile space. Earlier this month, Apple signed an agreement to acquire mobile ad firm Quattro Wireless. That move came just two months after Google agreed to buy AdMob. Last week, Amobee Media Systems, an ad network based in Redwood City, CA, purchased Ring Ring Media, a London-based mobile ad agency.

“Combining our monetization and analytics platform with the Opera browser and widget platform will create a new intelligent platform, where local and global advertisers can interact with a highly instrumented mobile audience,” said Mahi de Silva, CEO of AdMarvel.

Update: An earlier version of the story did not include terms of the deal.