Mediaocean will purchase Flashtalking, a digital ad serving company that is known for powering dynamic creative optimization<\/a> for brands, for $500 million,\u00a0 The Wall Street Journal first reported<\/a> the deal this morning. Citing sources, the Journal says the deal could be a precursor to an IPO next year for Mediaocean.<\/p>\n Last month, we spoke with Mediaocean CEO Bill Wise on his company’s acquisition growth and the opportunities that the company’s owner Vista Partners, has brought.\u00a0 We have republished that interview with today’s news<\/a>.<\/p>\n Here is our original report on my conversation with Bill Wise for our series on<\/a> innovation and value creation.<\/p>\n Entrepreneurs benefit when they work with investors at every stage of growth from startup to expansion and diversification. As co-founder and chief executive of advertising software company Mediaocean, Bill Wise<\/a> has been through steps that have included being acquired by a private equity firm and buying other companies worldwide.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not a sprint. It\u2019s also not a marathon. It\u2019s a relay race,\u201d he said in this interview with Beet.TV. \u201cYou need to know when to hand the baton off, and that\u2019s through every facet of the company.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the negative effects of the pandemic on the global economy, businesses have many ways to find venture capital. Those sources can include technology entrepreneurs who want to diversify their wealth by investing in promising startups.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople always say the best time to start companies is in a recession or a downturn,\u201d Wise said. \u201cSo, it\u2019s going to be really interesting in the next 12 months how many new startups we see coming out of this.\u201d<\/p>\n Mediaocean has weighed different sources of financing throughout its growth, including the sale to private-equity firm Vista Equity Partners in 2015. At that time, the private-equity market was stronger than the public markets, and Mediaocean had more room to growth before considering an initial public offering (IPO) of stock.<\/p>\n \u201cFor us, we needed that next phase of maturation before exploring the IPO markets,\u201d he said. \u201cWho you partner with really matters.\u201d<\/p>\n Mediaocean,\u00a0whose roots go back<\/a>\u00a0to the 1960s with Donovan Systems, has been aggressive about buying software companies that\u00a0Wise once described<\/a>\u00a0as \u201cmini Mediaoceans\u201d in other markets. The acquisitions include MBS and Symsys to expand into Europe, and\u00a0PIN Systems\u00a0and\u00a0BCC AdSystems\u00a0to push into the Asia-Pacific region.<\/p>\n When investing in startups, Wise said he looks for entrepreneurs who are passionate about their businesses and who are willing to change strategies as the market demands.<\/p>\n \u201cI look for that fire in the eye,\u201d he said. \u201cI look for something that\u2019s passion-based.\u201d<\/p>\n A combination of stimulus funding and low interest rates is pushing equity markets to new highs and making stocks expensive compared with their profits. A handful of tech stocks are driving the overall market.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a sense of irrationality around technology,\u201d Wise said. \u201cLuckily for us in this space, advertising has become a technology-driven business and a software-drive business.\u201d<\/p>\n The rich valuations of adtech companies is giving them more currency for acquisitions. Wise sees a need for a diverse advertising market outside of walled gardens in search, social media and e-commerce.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe the industry needs a neutral and independent operating system,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s too much buy-side technology being driven by Big Tech. Google, Facebook and Amazon are the world\u2019s largest sellers of media. They control too much of the buy-side ad-tech.\u201d<\/p>\nAcquisition Philosophy<\/h3>\n