Business social network LinkedIn is to acquire business audience marketing company Bizo for about US$175m in an effort to boost its ability to offer a B2B marketing platform for brands.
Bizo, based in San Francisco, California, offers targeting and analytics for display and direct response ads to help advertisers reach professionals and businesses.
“It’s exciting for us to bring Bizo’s expertise and technology into our ecosystem,” said Deep Nishar, LinkedIn’s SVP of product and user experience.
“Our ability to integrate their B2B solutions with our content marketing products will enable us to become the most effective platform for B2B marketers to engage professionals.”
Russell Glass, co-founder and CEO of Bizo, said the company has been a LinkedIn partner for awhile now, and it became clear the two firms’ missions and cultures are well-aligned.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled that we are coming together to accelerate our ability to reach professional audiences, nurture prospects, and acquire customers in truly powerful ways,” Glass added.
The acquisition is expected to close during the third quarter of this year. Many members of the Bizo team are expected to join LinkedIn at that time.
