Gannett Acquires PointRoll Inc. - $100M

"The Gannett Co. announced on Friday the acquisition of the stock of PointRoll Inc., a company that provides technology for rich media ads. Merrill Lynch estimates the deal at $100 million, according to a note released today. PointRoll was represented by The Jordan, Edmiston Group and will initially report to USA Today.

The rich media company offers a way for advertisers to expand ads through mouse roll-overs that can temporary inflate banners or bring up additional windows within a given ad space. PointRoll also provides floating ads.

'We believe that [PointRoll's] clever and popular approach to interactive advertising, along with their continuous innovation, will be a nice fit,' USA Today President and Publisher Craig Moon said in a statement.

PointRoll COO Chris Saridakis will become CEO. Jules Gardner, PointRoll's founder and CEO, announced he is leaving the company.

PointRoll is profitable with a fast growth rate, according to Merrill Lynch. The research firm suggested that 40% of its revenues comes from consumer brands like P&G, Kraft, Kellogg, and Nestle. Gannett will most likely roll out the technology to the rest of its Web properties. Merrill Lynch called the acquisition a nice non-traditional fit though it will have a small net impact on Gannett. "

[E&P]