Rentrak Completes Kantar Purchase

Ratings measurement company Rentrak said it has completed the acquisition of Kantar Media’s U.S. assets in an all-stock deal worth about $128 million.

That is about $30 million higher than the company first projected when it announced the deal in October. At that time, Rentrak agreed to issue 1.53 million shares of its stock (priced at $64.51 each) for the Kantar assets, which include Kantar’s customer contacts and relationships in the U.S. measurement market. Rentrak’s stock has risen about 30% since the deal was first announced — it was priced at $84.10 each on Nov. 28, the day the deal closed, which is the reason for increase in the purchase price.

As part of the deal, Rentrak will also integrate its national and local TV measurement with a number of Kantar’s U.S.-based services that focus on digital media, advertising expenditure and purchase data. The integration will provide advertisers, agencies, TV networks, multichannel video program distributors (MVPDs) and local television stations throughout the U.S. with tools to understand consumers’ purchasing habits and the ability to link TV viewing habits with purchase and other behavior in the United States.

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