AdMob Competitor Greystripe Approached by Potential Suitors

 

AdMob Competitor Greystripe Approached by Potential Suitors

By Brian Womack

Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Greystripe Inc., a competitor to AdMob Inc. in the mobile-advertising market, said it’s drawing increased interest from potential suitors following Google Inc.’s deal to buy AdMob last month.

Greystripe, which sells ads on Apple Inc.’s iPhone and other devices, has met with more companies in the past two months, Chief Executive Officer Michael Chang said in an interview. Google agreed to pay $750 million in stock forAdMob.

“I’ve had to spend a lot more time on those types of meetings in the last two months,” said Chang, 35. “Everybody in digital has been thinking about it much more. Then, obviously, it’s heated up since the acquisition.”

Greystripe, founded in 2004, is capitalizing on a surge in demand for mobile-phone ads, Chang said. The company expects sales to triple this year and more than triple next year, he said, without giving specific numbers. Customers see mobile ads as a way to stand out, compared with regular online marketing, Chang said.

“This still has a lot less clutter than online,” he said.

Greystripe, based in San Francisco, has $18 million in venture funding -- including an investment from Peacock Equity Fund, which is backed by General Electric Co. and NBC Universal. The company has enough funding for now and should be profitable next year, Chang said.

AdMob Purchase

Google is buying Palo Alto, California-based AdMob in part to get more advertising dollars from iPhone applications, Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt said last month. Together, AdMob and Google will become the largest mobile-advertising company, with about 30 percent to 40 percent of the market, according to Karsten Weide, an analyst with research firm IDC in San Mateo, California.

Other companies in the mobile-ad industry include Sunnyvale, California-basedYahoo! Inc. and Redmond, Washington- based Microsoft Corp. Like Google, they both offer mobile versions of their Internet search engines.

Greystripe began selling advertising on iPhone applications last year. This month, it introduced ads for programs on Android, Google’s mobile operating system. The company also sells advertising for phones such as Motorola Inc.’s Razr and Nokia Oyj’s N82.

Greystripe’s advertising customers include Best Buy Co. and Unilever. The ads are placed within applications created by companies such as Electronic Arts Inc. and RealNetworks Inc.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Womack in San Francisco atBwomack1@bloomberg.net

 

Last Updated: December 18, 2009 14:48 EST 

From: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601204&sid=aORgN1GbMAGU