LinkedIn just announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Bizo, a company that helps advertisers reach businesses and professionals. LinkedIn says the deal is worth around $175 million — 90 percent cash and 10 percent stock.
Bizo spun out from business directory ZoomInfo back in 2008. It raised a total of $20 million in venture funding (at least as of its Series B two years ago) from investors including Bessemer Venture Partners, Venrock, and Crosslink Capital. It also raised $12.5 million in debt. Bizo offers targeting and analytics for display and direct response ads. At the beginning of 2013, the company told me that it brought in $22 million in revenue during the previous year.
In a blog post about the acquisition, LinkedIn’s David Thacker pointed to the growth of business-to-business advertising on LinkedIn, particularly of its Sponsored Updates ad unit. (LinkedIn reported that its Marketing Solutions division brought in $101.8 million in revenue in the first quarter of 2014 — up 36 percent year-over-year.) Bizo’s technology could help LinkedIn improve its offerings.
Read more on this story at TechCrunch.
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