Blackstone Closes Acquisition of Vungle, a Leading Mobile Performance Marketing Platform

Sales EngagementIn App MarketingSales & Marketing

By STS News Desk On Oct 1, 2019

Blackstone Closes Acquisition of Vungle, a Leading Mobile Performance Marketing Platform

Vungle Promotes Jeremy Bondy to Chief Operating Officer

Blackstone announced that private equity funds managed by Blackstone (“Blackstone”) have completed the previously announced acquisition of Vungle, a leading performance marketing platform for in-app video advertisements on mobile devices.

Vungle is trusted by publishers of more than 60,000 mobile apps worldwide, including top brands such as Rovio, Zynga, Pandora, Microsoft, and Scopely, among others. The company serves more than 4 billion video views per month over a billion unique devices, and is consistently ranked No.1 for cross-platform user retention by industry mobile performance indexes. Vungle is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in London, Berlin, Beijing, Tokyo, Singapore and Seoul.

The acquisition brings together Vungle’s leading performance marketing platform for in-app advertising with Blackstone’s demonstrated success in partnering with category leaders to support and accelerate their growth.

“Vungle’s rich expertise in the high-growth, in-app performance advertising market and strong focus on the mobile experience position the company well for continued success,” said Sachin Bavishi, principal at Blackstone. “We are excited to support Vungle as it continues to expand its platform capabilities and enter new markets to better serve advertisers and publishers.”

Martin Brand, a senior managing director at Blackstone, said: “We are pleased to complete this transaction, and look forward to investing in Vungle and pursuing a business plan focused on accelerating growth.”

Rick Tallman, CEO of Vungle, said: “We are delighted to join the Blackstone portfolio of companies and kick off the next chapter of Vungle’s story. With Blackstone’s resources and expertise, we will build upon our proven track record as a trusted guide for mobile growth and engagement for the world’s largest brands.”

Concurrent with the completion of the transaction, Vungle is promoting Jeremy Bondy to the newly created role of chief operating officer. He will continue to oversee global revenue and Vungle Creative Labs, while ensuring operational excellence across the business.

“Jeremy is a seasoned and trusted leader who consistently delivers results,” added Tallman. “Jeremy’s sales and operational leadership have been instrumental to our rapid, profitable growth over the past five years. I look forward to working closely with him in his new role as we continue to expand our company and better serve our customers.”

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is serving as financial advisor to Vungle and Guggenheim Securities, LLC is serving as financial advisor to Blackstone on the transaction. DLA Piper LLP (US) is serving as legal advisor to Vungle and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is serving as legal advisor to Blackstone.