AOL buys mobile ad Millennial Media

The MM deal is worth $238 million (after accounting for debt), otherwise understood as $1.75 per share for the public company, AOL announced.

The deal will add one of the largest suppliers of mobile app advertising impressions to AOL’s programmatic and direct selling infrastructure. With Millennial, it will be able to deliver more tailored ads to subscribers on their smartphones.

The acquisition will also help AOL accelerate its mobile position in key worldwide markets including France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, United Kingdom, and the United States.

As one of the bevy of mobile ad sellers, Millennial Media boasts a network of more than 65,000 apps and 1 billion global active users.

Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche said in a research note that the acquisition is designed to strengthen Verizon and AOL’s programmatic advertising platform as it prepares to launch Go90, which is reportedly going to happen in the coming days. Millennial Media also drives monetization for its publisher and developer partners by connecting them to networks, advertisers and an RTB exchange.

This just in: AOL, itself acquired by Verizon for $4.4 billion earlier this year, has announced that it is making another purchase of its own.

The acquisition continues AOL’s investments in cross-platform programmatic technology for marketers and publishers.

The deal will comes by way of tender offer to be followed by a merger.

Millennial Media CEO and President Michael Barrett acknowledged in August during an earnings call with investors that the ad tech company was exploring strategic options. Millennial stock has a 52-week per share price range of $1.18 to $2.29. Analysts say that companies like Millennial have not fared well as clients have gotten exhausted of dealing with numerous advertising technology companies to reach out to consumers on Television, mobile devices and desktop computers. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and expected to close this fall. The Advertising Services company is now valued at $0.25 billion and its share price closed the last trading session at $1.74.

The acquisition caps off a busy few months for AOL as it seeks to establish the prowess required to compete with digital advertising stalwarts such as Google, Twitter and Facebook.