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Tapad will operate as a standalone entity within the Telenor group; CEO and CTO to keep their jobs and a 5% stake in the company.
Telenor on Monday announced it has agreed to acquire 95% of U.S.-based Tapad for US$360 million.
Tapad, which provides cross-device digital marketing technology, will give Telenor a foothold in the advertising tech space, as well as providing it with digital marketing and analytics skills.
"I believe significant value can be created from applying marketing technology to improve the digital capabilities of our core telecom business," said Telenor chief executive Sigve Brekke.
"This will improve our understanding of customer behaviour, and supports building a platform for other business areas,” he said.
Tapad, which is headquartered in New York, was set up in 2010 by Norwegian Are Traasdahl, who serves as the company’s CEO. Traasdahl and co-founder Dag Liodden will continue to hold a 5% stake.
Traasdahl and Liodden, Tapad’s CTO, will retain their positions. Tapad will operate as a standalone entity within Telenor.
Traasdahl said he is "thrilled" to join the Norwegian telco.
"This [deal] will accelerate our vision to become the world’s leading provider of unified digital marketing solutions," he said.
Tapad claims more than 160 major U.S. brands amongst its customers and has 50 data technology licensing partnerships. It expects to post $57 million in revenues for full-year 2015 and an EBITDA loss of $12 million; Telenor said it expects the firm to reach EBITDA breakeven in 2017.
Telenor expects the deal to close in the current quarter, subject to regulatory approvals.
