Ad trading service GDM Digital has announced its £7 million purchase by fellow London-based tech firm Ve Interactive.  

Digital advertising is thought to be a key focus for e-commerce conversion expert Ve Interactive going forward and GDM Digital has seemingly fit the company’s ideal acquisition profile.  

Its new purchase specialises in the performance side of ad trading and also offers services for real-time bidding.  

Numerous members of GDM’s current staff roster are expected to be given new titles at Ve and reports suggest the company will be absorbed into VeAds – one of Ve’s line of conversion apps – by the end of 2015.  

Making “perfect sense”

One of the personnel destined for a move across to Ve is GDM Digital CEO and co-founder Ed Stevens, who will take the reins as commercial director.  

Stevens said he was excited to enter business with Ve, which looks increasingly like building a digital ad trading service to help online retailers boost their conversions.

“GDM Digital has established itself as an innovative and fast growth digital advertising company and Ve is a multi award-winning UK tech success story, therefore agreeing to become part of its journey made perfect sense,” he commented.

His opposite number in Ve co-founder and CEO, David J. Brown, was also on hand to explain to PerformanceIN how the two companies could work together – describing the move as a “perfect fit”.

He added: “Ve will now truly be a one-stop shop for digital advertising, retargeting and a complete suite of website performance tools.  It is now the broadest digital advertising offering in the global marketplace. 

“In addition, when using VeGenie and VeAds – incorporating the GDM offering - it is the only solution in the marketplace that naturally de-dupes customer data, ensuring the merchant pays only once for retargeting or remarketing and not twice as if the solutions were offered by two different vendors.

“This is significant – why would anyone use a remarketing provider without retargeting in the same technology group and vice versa.”

Interest in ads

Ve already has experience in delivering advertising in some form through the VePlatform, a dynamic retargeting and re-engagement tool which provides access to all of the company’s conversion apps. Earlier this year, Ve bolstered its ad tech portfolio with the buyout of dynamic ad solutions provider AdGenie, which now operates within the VePlatform as VeGenie.  

Elsewhere, clients can use platform tools such as VeAssist for search optimisation and VeChat for on-site communications to ensure that prospective consumers are handed the right messages at the right times. The platform also offers a centralised reporting dashboard for establishing performance and pinpointing key trends. 

The 42-strong team at GDM will have a hand in developing such solutions, joining a family of over 500 Ve employees worldwide.