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AdBrite、アドエクスチェンジビジネスから撤退を発表

2013.1.29

AdBrite has shut down its exchange, and says it is close to selling off its other assets: namely, its B2B Marketplace directory and the intellectual property and engineering operations that power the core exchange product. In essence, this means that adBrite as it has been known — since evolving from an ad network — will soon be no more. But, for the time being at least, adBrite CEO Hardeep Bindra tells AdExchanger that the company is still operating with a skeletal staff, though the brand remains alive nevertheless.

“The sale could happen in a matter of days, with the worst case scenario being three- to four weeks,” Bindra said, after AdExchanger contacted him in response to a report that the company was shutting down after sales talks fell through by AllThingsD’s Peter Kafka. “We are not closing our doors yet and the talks are continuing.”
The company is in talks with “several” private equity firms and “established” ad tech firms about purchasing the technology. If a PE firm takes over, Bindra said that the adBrite name could well survive. But if an ad tech firm makes the purchase and folds the exchange technology into an existing system, the adBrite logo will probably be retired.

AdBrite is vague about why it had to shutter now. It may have suffered from a drought of quality inventory on its platform, as more mature exchange offerings hoovered up ad space. Or it may have been hurt by its past association with adult content, though Bindra noted that the Spanish adult ad network Exoclick was always independent and has no connection to adBrite these days.

The shuttering of adBrite’s exchange comes as some other ad tech companies have encountered problems. As Business Insider’s Alyson Shontell reported, e-commerce platform Group Commerce has laid off 28% of its 109-person staff and will focus on a more automated solution going forward. Earlier this month, we reported that Spruce Media made significant staff cuts in account management as it sought to reposition itself to concentrate on its social enterprise ad software business.

For adBrite, this move comes after several months of significant upheaval between its board and the senior management.
Though it had shifted gears from its ad network beginnings, the company was never recognized for making the full leap. So, last May, adBrite’s board decided it was time for a change and brought in Bindra, a former Yahoo/Right Media executive, to complete the evolution

He was joined by former Yahoo colleague and Oracle technologist Joaquin Delgado. Over the summer, the company added John Underwood to run business development. (We spoke with the team last month about its mobile and video expansion plans.)

The decision to put the company up for sale was made a little less than a month ago, Bindra told AdExchanger today.
“We decided, as we went down the path to sell the business as a whole, that it made the most sense to sell the IP and the core engineering technology,” Bindra said. “Following an evaluation of the business with our lenders and investors, we all agreed that this space is crowded enough that we can find a strategic buyer for the IP business. It didn’t make sense to operate a marketplace on our own. We agreed to put it in the hands of a network or entity that can take advantage of the scale we’ve been able to achieve, particularly our ability to handle over 1 billion impressions a day across PC and mobile. We fully expect to see that business that would be thriving in a different setup, whether it’s under the umbrella of a PE firm or an ad tech company.”

Of the 26 total adBrite staffers who were there before the sale period, Bindra said that there are about 11 employees under the IP and engineering departments. “Most of those people will be transitioning elsewhere,” he said. “Apart from that, it’s more uncertain.”


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