Adjust apparently sold for one billion US dollars

Applovin has announced its intention to acquire the German adtech start-up. The purchase price is estimated to be in the nine-figure range.

Adjust is being acquired by the US mobile marketing company Applovin. This was announced by both companies in a statement. OMR estimates that the takeover is apparently the most expensive exit in German adtech history. 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 advertisers can use to measure the success of their mobile marketing ads. Adjust has around 500 employees at 16 locations and has been profitable since 2015. The founders Christian Henschel and Paul Müller are each said to still hold 9.6 percent of Adjust, while the third founder Manuel Kniep holds 2.5 percent, according to Gründerszene based on the list of shareholders. This means that Hensche and Müller could each receive 96 million US dollars. Kniep would still receive 40 million US dollars in the event of a sale.

Various other investors are also involved: 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 Paris-based investor Idinvest/Eurazeo and the Belgian investment company Sofina each held around 7.8 percent. Some employees also own small shares.

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