Out-of-home (OOH) adtech provider Broadsign announced it has acquired Place Exchange, an independent OOH supply-side platform (SSP), with a minority investment from Crestline Investors.
Combining Broadsign’s content management system, ad serving, and buy- and sell-side capabilities with Place Exchange’s SSP and complementary solutions, the acquisition aims to bolster Broadsign’s global programmatic digital OOH offering and fast-track innovation across its entire OOH ad tech portfolio.
Broadsign publishers will be able to tap into new demand sources while Place Exchange’s DSP partners and media buyers gain access to premium international inventory on the Broadsign platform.
The global ad market is projected to reach USD 992 billion this year, with international OOH spend forecast to top USD 49 billion in 2025.
Burr Smith, CEO, Broadsign, said: “Demand for OOH advertising continues to hold strong, but for the OOH market to seize new growth opportunities, rapid evolution is key. The acquisition of Place Exchange will allow Broadsign to deliver the most comprehensive OOH advertising solution in the market. We see the future of OOH as smarter, more efficient, dynamic, and measurable. With Place Exchange’s team and technology, and Crestline’s investment, Broadsign will deliver on that vision much faster.”
Broadsign is acquiring the Place Exchange platform, including its network of inventory in the US and abroad, deep demand-side platform integrations, and suite of innovative programmatic solutions, including the PerView OOH measurement solution.
The Place Exchange SSP supports workflows for planning, targeting, delivery, reporting, and attribution that are similar to online, mobile, and other digital ad channels.
Place Exchange also offers features, such as advanced programmatic guaranteed capabilities, reach and frequency measurement, audience-based targeting on a per-screen level, dynamic bid triggers, geospatial targeting for moving media, advanced analytics and reporting, and more. Place Exchange has also developed solutions for on-screen cinema, programmatic audio, place-based video, and in-store retail media, expanding the scope of digital OOH (DOOH) across the larger digital media ecosystem.
With the acquisition, Place Exchange CEO Ari Buchalter and the Place Exchange team have also joined Broadsign. Buchalter said: “OOH is having a major moment, with more buyers and DSPs of all shapes and sizes leaning into the medium, sparking a new era of innovation. The combination of Place Exchange and Broadsign comes at a perfect time, unleashing the most complete OOH advertising solution built by the industry’s leading platforms to meet this demand. Together with Broadsign, we’ll be able to accelerate the advancement of OOH workflows, with a focus on automation and data, to reimagine how the channel is bought, sold, and measured for the better.”
Will Palmer, a Crestline Partner & co-head of US Credit, who will also be joining the Broadsign board of directors, said: “Programmatic buying has emerged as one of the strongest growth engines within DOOH, bringing greater automation, measurability, and demand into the channel. The broader expansion of the ad-tech market is creating meaningful new opportunities, and we’re thrilled to support Broadsign and Place Exchange in this transaction.”
Marking Broadsign’s fourth acquisition in less than seven years, the agreement expands Broadsign’s team to 370 employees globally, and its network of programmatically transactable OOH inventory to 1.8 million screens. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Solomon Partners served as the financial advisor to Broadsign on this transaction while LUMA Partners served as the financial advisor to Place Exchange.
Mark Boidman, head of media and entertainment investment banking at Solomon Partners, said: “We believe this transaction makes Broadsign the clear number one global provider of tech solutions to the out of home media industry adding the leading SSP as it relates to OOH and in store media.”