Adjust apparently sold for one billion US dollars

Applovin has announced its intention to acquire the German adtech start-up. Estimates assume a nine-digit purchase price.

Adjust is being bought out by US mobile marketing company Applovin. The two companies made the announcement in a statement. Apparently, the acquisition is the most expensive exit in German adtech history, OMR estimates. According to the news portal Bloomberg, the purchase price is said to be just under one billion US dollars. The deal still has to be approved by shareholders and competition authorities.

Adjust was founded in 2012 and offers software that allows advertisers to measure the success of their mobile marketing ads. Adjust has about 500 employees in 16 locations and has been turning a profit since 2015. Founders Christian Henschel, Paul Müller are each said to still hold 9.6 percent of Adjust, while third founder Manuel Kniep holds 2.5 percent, Gründerszene

writes based on the list of shareholders. This means Hensche and Müller could each receive $96 million. Kniep would still get $40 million in a sale.

Various investors also have stakes in the company: the Highland Europe fund has a 24.4 percent stake, Luxembourg-based investor HE has 12.5 percent, Munich-based venture capitalist Target Partners has 6.9 percent, and Cologne-based VC Capnamic Ventures has 3.4 percent. The Spanish private equity fund Amerigo Innvierte held 5.1 percent, the Parisian investor Idinvest/Eurazeo and the Belgian investment company Sofina each most recently held around 7.8 percent. Some employees also own small stakes.

"Adjust's product-centric approach to attribution and analytics is similar to the way we built Applovin, and exceptional partnerships come from similar goals and culture," Applovin CEO Adam Foroughi said of the acquisitions. "Together, we believe we will drive innovation in marketing tools for mobile app developers worldwide."