Sprint has sold off its mobile data and advertising company, Pinsight Media, to marketing tech firm InMobi in an all-stock deal that is part of a larger strategic partnership, the companies said Wednesday.
Details of the transaction were not disclosed.
InMobi CEO Naveen Tewari told the ET Tech that InMobi will serve ads for brands for smartphone users on the Sprint network and both companies would share the revenue. The outlet also reported that the deal also gives Sprint a minority stake in the Indian company.
Pinsight works with U.S. telcos and advertisers, using mobile data from carriers to help businesses and marketers better target ads.
Bengaluru-based InMobi said the acquisition will enable it to combine network-level mobile data with data from mobile applications and web browsers to provide CMOs with an end-to-end view of consumers.
AT&T, with its acquisition of Time Warner earlier this year, has been beefing up its advertising and analytics business, which is now called Xandr. The operator has said its ad business will leverage data, premium content, advanced ad tech and AT&T’s distribution channels that provide more than 170 million direct-to-consumer relationships.
Sprint’s move to sell Pinsight Media also comes as mobile is expected to surpass TV advertising spending by $6 billion this year, according to eMarketer. The gap between the two is anticipated to widen further by 2022, when the research firm estimates mobile spending will reach $141.36 billion in the U.S., while TV will account for $68.13 billion.
“Sprint’s partnership with InMobi goes beyond this acquisition. We have been looking for a strategic partner that can deliver the latest digital marketing and mobile advertising technologies, besides having a deep appreciation of regulatory, privacy, and data concerns,” said Rob Roy, chief digital officer at Sprint, in a statement. “This partnership provides Sprint with an innovative partner for driving our marketing success.”
“This industry-first acquisition allows InMobi and Sprint to work on our respective strengths together, and provides a global template for partnerships between advertising platforms and telcos,” Tewari said in a statement.
Sprint is still awaiting regulatory approval for its proposed $26.5 billion merger with the nation’s third-largest wireless carrier, T-Mobile.
