PubliGroupe and Axel Springer acquire AOL's subsidiary Buy.at
Market leadership in online affiliate marketing in the UK
The British affiliate network Digital Window, in which Axel Springer and PubliGroupe have held a majority 50.1% stake since 2009, is acquiring its competitor Perfiliate Ltd. from AOL. Perfiliate operates in the UK, the USA and in Scandinavia under the name Buy.at.
The acquisition will make Digital Window the number one company for online affiliate marketing in the UK – Europe's biggest market for online marketing and e-commerce. Axel Springer and PubliGroupe are thus continuing to build up their position in the European market for performance-based online marketing. Together with their jointly owned business zanox (Berlin), this acquisition makes them the market leaders in Europe.
Thomas Kaiser, CEO of Digital & Marketing Services and Deputy CEO from PubliGroupe said the following: "The acquisition of zanox in 2007 gave us and our partner Axel Springer AG an entry into the strategically important growth market of online performance marketing. Thanks to zanox's impressive organic growth and the acquisition of Digital Window and Buy.at, we now have a presence in all the key European markets. This means we can give our international customers access to a large number of online sales channels almost at the click of a button."
Buy.at services about 300 customers, who can advertise via a network of more than 40,000 online publishers. The company, which was a subsidiary of the American group AOL, employs around 70 people at its offices in London and Newcastle. In the last financial year it achieved sales of over EUR 40 million. Like Digital Window, the company earns a commission on every successful transaction completed via its platform. Its most important customers include O2 and Virgin Media.
Using an affiliate marketing model, Digital Window has more than 950 advertising customers who market their goods and services through more than 80,000 online publishers. The company employs 100 people in London. Its biggest customers include John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Sky and Vodafone.
Contact:
PubliGroupe Ltd.
Thomas Kaiser
CEO Digital & Marketing Services, and Deputy CEO
Tel: +41 (0) 21 317 72 58
Fax: +41 (0) 21 317 75 55
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