Source-Telefonica
Telefónica in partnership with Blackstone’s GSO Capital Partners (GSO) has acquired MobClix to form Axonix, a mobile advertising exchange platform that will propel Telefónica into the fast-growing real-time advertising space (RTB).
The new entity will be headed by Simon Birkenhead, leaving his current role as Telefónica’s Director of Global Advertising Sales. The newly formed company will be run independently with completely new executive management team and will operate globally with its headquarters in London.
According to Telefonica, Axonix which already has100 demand partners, is a fully transparent, programmatic marketplace that enables mobile publishers to achieve the highest possible prices for their inventory whilst adhering to any controls and selling rules they define. Axonix will initially offer a self-service, mobile ad exchange platform to advertisers and publishers globally but with a specific focus on US and Europe, plus Latin America where Telefónica has enormous local scale, it adds.
“Axonix is created specifically for the mobile advertising industry, using technology with a four year heritage in leading this market to offer a central destination for operator-enriched advertising inventory. We’re proud to be the first telecoms company in the world to own and power a mobile ad exchange platform, demonstrating our unwavering commitment to putting digital services front and centre as we transform into a digital telco. Through the acquisition of the MobClix technology, in partnership with Blackstone’s GSO, as well as our unique data sets as a mobile operator, we expect to become one of the leading global technology platforms in the mobile programmatic advertising industry. Our immediate priority now is to scale the business quickly by attracting the best talent in the industry, right from the heart of London, and partner with leading brands, agencies, networks and publishers to make highly targeted, relevant and impactful mobile advertising a reality across the globe.”
- Stephen Shurrock, CEO of Digital Serices & Innovation, Telefonica
At GSO, we recognize the need for an innovative entrant into the mobile advertising exchange market to address the increasingly global and data driven requirements for advertisers and publishers. We are looking forward to partnering with Telefonica on this exciting opportunity.” said Scott Eisenberg, Managing Director from GSO who will join the board of Axonix.”
- Scott Eisenberg, Managing Director from GSO (will join the boeard of Axonix
