PointRoll Considers Sale

Rich media player PointRoll is exploring the possibility of a sale, ClickZ has learned.

PointRoll CEO and founder Jules Gardner denied the company is in active pursuit of a buyout, but he confirmed he’s hired an investment banker to field inquiries from prospective buyers. Though he wouldn’t reveal who was representing the firm, he said, “Our banker definitely handles the phone calls I was previously handling. They’re answering the questions people are asking.”

But Gardner would not characterize the inquiries as “active.” He noted PointRoll has grown steadily from day one and has done particularly well in the last six months. He said the company served more than 2 billion rich media ad impressions in December 2004 alone. The firm is privately held and has no outside investors.

“With the market this ripe, someone needs to write an enormous check for me to leave my post,” he said. “I’ve seen budgets rising every single day.”

Gardner insisted the company has always listened to offers from those interested in buying in or in buying it out, as the case may be. He said, “The phone rings off the hook from private equity guys, or the usual suspects, with an interest [in buying or investing] in the company.”

PointRoll for several years played the scrappy underdog to competitors such as Eyeblaster and Unicast. The company is known for its expandable ad units and others, including FatBoy, TomBoy, BadBoy, and TowelBoy. It also operates an “included” network of agencies and publishers who offer its formats at prices equivalent to those for banners and simple Flash ads.