The purchase, which was completed on 29 July, will allow Ingenta to strengthen its product portfolio and strategically build on its existing plans to diversify its client base. This will extend its offering into the media industry as well as the trade and academic publishing markets.
Ingenta will pay up to £1m for the share capital of 5fifteen, half of which will be paid now and half as an earn-out on revenue.
5fifteen is known for its web-based advertising platform Ad Depot, which enables media organisations to sell, manage and deliver print and digital advertising.
The system has processed more than £1bn in advertising income and is used by organisations such as Hearst Corporation, Trusted Media Brands, Springer Nature and Elsevier.
Ingenta said Ad Depot complements its web-based offerings and will broaden the overall appeal of its products and help it to establish a stronger foothold in the media industry.
Ingenta chief financial officer Alan Moug said the company’s chief executive David Montgomery already knew 5fifteen and the Ad Depot product as he was involved with the firm a number of years ago.
“The two businesses had recently signed a bi-lateral reseller agreement with Ingenta selling Ad Depot and 5fifteen selling Ingenta CMS,” said Moug.
“When the owners wished to sell, they came to Ingenta because of the close ties and because both parties recognised Ingenta was a natural home for the product.”
He added: “Ad Depot will continue to be developed and invested in, but the most immediate boost to the business will be using Ingenta’s global reach to take the product into a wider market.”
5fifteen will be hived up into the Ingenta trading companies in the UK and US with the global division and the Ad Depot product being renamed Ingenta Advertising.
The acquisition will add 16 staff to Ingenta, bringing the company’s total headcount to 160.
5fifteen’s Slough office will be closed and staff will move across to work out of Ingenta’s Oxford office from Q4 2016. The firm said there are no plans for any jobs to be affected by the acquisition other than at board level.
Ingenta’s turnover for 2015 was £14.6m while 5fifteen’s turnover for 2015 was £1.9m. Ingenta said its results for the year to 31 December 2016 will include five months of the acquired business from 1 August.
