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Breaking News: Batanga Acquires I-Network and AdFunky

Batanga is buying Latin American online media companies Adfunky and I-Network in two distinct and separate transactions. You are reading it in Portada first.

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Batanga is buying Latin American online media companies Adfunky and I-Network in two distinct and separate transactions. You are reading it in Portada first.

With the acquisitions of Bogota, Colombia, based I-Network and Buenos Aires, Argentina, headquartered Adfunky, Batanga Network significantly increases its audience, publishing partners and sales organization. GroupArgent represented Adfunky and I-Network in this transaction and acted as their exclusive financial advisor. The details of the transactions were not disclosed.

Batanga will continue to be headquartered in Miami, with regional offices located in Mexico City, Bogota and Buenos Aires as well as sales offices in nineteen cities throughout the globe. “These acquisitions will allow us to grow our U.S. Hispanic business as well as deliver audiences in some of the fastest growing emerging online markets in the world,” said Rafael Urbina, chairman and CEO, Batanga, Inc.

The I-Network business, read its history in Spanish here, led by Juan Carlos Samper, will continue as is in the region with operations in 14 countries. I-Network will also continue to represent Microsoft Network properties in Latin America. Juan Carlos Samper who will continue to act as I-Network’s CEO, says that I-Network, together with Batanga’s team, will continue to develop its Adstars performance advertising unit, which will also enter the Brazilian market soon.  

Based in Argentina, Adfunky is a growing ad network and digital media company. “Uniting Adfunky’s audience and expertise, both in the U.S. and abroad, with Batanga’s sophisticated products will create impactful opportunities for advertisers,” said Mariano Burstein, Co-Founder, Adfunky.

Rafael Urbina CEO of Batanga tells Portada that “larger scale will allow us to leverage investments in technology, content and publisher development across a much larger addressable market allowing all three companies to remain competitive in their respective areas.”

Urbina says that Batanga’s non online ad network assets such as Batanga.com and Lolasabe.com will continue to play a key role by delivering site-specific advertising solutions such as customized consumer experiences.

“Both sites will benefit from the acquisitions by leveraging content and technology investments across a much larger addressable market now,” Urbina adds.

Growth and Consolidation

As the U.S. Hispanic and Latin American Online Advertising markets grow, the portion that it is intermediated by ad networks also increases. While in the U.S. online ad market that portion is well above 50%, in Latin America it has not reached that level.

Online ad networks reduce the complexity of the buy for clients by spreading media buys in tens, often hundreds of different websites. The Latin online ad network space has been under a consolidation phase with recent transactions including the purchase by AudienceScience of Consorte Media.  Batanga’s acquisition of I-Network and Adfunky is another chapter in the consolidation of the fast growing Latin online ad(-network) space.

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