ValueClick Buys Dynamic Display Firm Dotomi

Following its April acquisition of mobile ad network Greystripe, ValueClick has agreed to purchase dynamic display ad optimization firm Dotomi for $295 million. The ad network today also reported a boost of 26 percent in revenues in Q2 2011 over the same period last year.

Dotomi determines display ad content and media placement dynamically based on behavioral data. The firm will become a wholly owned subsidiary of ValueClick.

Several dynamic display tech firms have already been snapped up by big online ad players. In 2009, Google purchased Teracent. Yahoo bought Dapper almost a year later in October 2010. In April 2010, DSP and audience buying platform company Mediamath acquireddynamic ad creation company Adroit Interactive.

Dotomi has a strong focus on retail advertisers, an area to which ValueClick has paid special attention of late. In April, the firm unveiled its goCart platform, a dynamic display ad system that retargets consumers with specific offers and features ad units that act as shopping assistants, asking questions about which product features are important to them.

The Dotomi buy could also have connections to ValueClick’s Greystripe mobile ad business. During the company’s Q2 earnings call this afternoon, a ValueClick executive suggested that mobile advertising is a “natural extension” of online retail campaigns. Referring to Dotomi’s display ad technology, he said, “Certainly there’s an opportunity as the technology evolves to do that on a mobile device as well.”

Chicago-based Dotomi is privately-owned and has 160 employees. ValueClick said in a press release that its purchase, valued at $295 million, will be comprised of 55 percent cash and 45 percent ValueClick common stock. Dotomi CEO John Giuliani will carry on in his current role, reporting directly to ValueClick CEO James Zarley. The dynamic ad firm is expected to earn more than $80 million in revenue this calendar year, according to the release.

ValueClick also reported its second quarter 2011 earnings today. The firm said Q2 revenues hit to $125.1 million, an increase of 26 percent compared to Q2 2010.