The Walt Disney Company has sold video ad-tech firm TrueX, which it acquired as part of its $71.3 billion purchase of 21st Century Fox, to mobile and location ad-tech company Gimbal.
Gimbal is buying TrueX to cash in on the connected TV boon, which has accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic as people stream more content while they stay at home.
“We are excited to join the Gimbal team. The combination of our value exchange-based approach to interactive video advertising and brand lift measurement, plus Gimbal’s offline attribution solution creates the first full-funnel advertising and measurement suite for connected TV and the entire digital ecosystem,” Pooja Midha, TrueX president, said in a statement
TrueX offers “value exchange” ads, such as surveys that consumers interact with in exchange for a lighter ad load. The deal will combine TrueX’s offering with Gimbal’s location data to boost its measurement and attribution offerings to marketers.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Gimbal reportedly paid less than $100 million for TrueX, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported in March that Disney was looking to sell TrueX.
“The TrueX network of publisher integrations enhances Gimbal’s existing identity solutions and can connect users’ online and offline interactions for one-to-one targeting and measurement for use within our ecosystem in a protected and privacy-safe way, ” Rob Emrich Gimbal’s CEO, said in a statement.
Disney declined to comment on the sale.
21st Century Fox acquired TrueX in 2014 for nearly $200 million. The ad-tech company was co-founded by Joe Marchese, who would later lead ad sales at Fox News Group.
Qualcomm spun-off Gimbal in 2014. The company then merged with The Mobile Majority, a mobile ad platform, in 2016.
https://www.adweek.com/programmatic/disney-sells-tv-ad-tech-unit-truex-to-gimbal/