STAMFORD — Digital-advertising firm MediaCrossing, one of the state’s fastest-growing startups in recent years, has been acquired by another company in its industry — but most of its team is staying in Connecticut.
Through the acquisition, Stamford-based MediaCrossing has been incorporated into the managed services division of Manhattan-headquartered Kubient, which provides cloud-based software for digital advertising.
“Our partnership with Kubient is going to revolutionize how advertisers and agencies look to manage their advertising campaigns,” MediaCrossing founder and CEO Michael Kalman said in an interview. “It will provide our clients with incredible innovation that we can deliver through our new company’s ‘pipes.’”
As part of the transaction, a 10-person MediaCrossing team has joined Kubient — including Kalman, who has become Kubient’s president of agency and brand partnerships. Those hires accounted for the majority of MediaCrossing’s staff, while a couple of its employees were laid off.
Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Since its founding in 2012, MediaCrossing has focused on serving middle-market brands and advertising agencies across the country concentrated in the industries of live events, pharmaceuticals, higher education, financial services, food and beverages and other packaged goods.
“We still get to do what we’re good at,” Kalman said. “But now we get to do that with a company that’s well-capitalized and has access to an incredible digital-media supply.”
In recent years, MediaCrossing has grown significantly. Among the accolades for its expansion, in 2019 it made the Inc. 5000 list of the country’s fastest-growing privately held firms, based on three-year revenue growth of 371 percent.
“MediaCrossing has a vast depth of knowledge and an incredible reputation in the industry of successfully servicing direct advertiser partnerships, a growing emphasis for Kubient,” Paul Robert, Kubient’s founder, CEO and chairman, said in a statement. “Not only does this acquisition provide us with seasoned industry experts, but it also gives us direct access to MediaCrossing’s customer list.”
In light of the acquisition and the rise of remote working, MediaCrossing plans to close by the end of this month the offices it has occupied for nearly five years at 9 W. Broad St., on the edge of downtown Stamford. But most of its employees are Connecticut residents and plan to stay in the state — including Kalman, who lives with his family in Westport.
“We have no plans on leaving Connecticut,” Kalman said. “We enjoy being in Connecticut, and we like the lifestyle.”
pschott@stamfordadvocate.com; Twitter: @paulschott
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