Marin Gets D Round, Hearst Buys iCrossing

Playing out according to the rumor that surfaced a couple of months ago, media company Hearst has acquired marquee SEM firm iCrossing. The Wall Street Journal is reporting the acquisition price is about $325 million with performance and financial goals that, if achieved, “could push the purchase price above $400 million, according to other people familiar with the matter.”

The acquisition is partly about bolstering the digital marketing assets and sophistication of Hearst’s various traditional media businesses, which include magazines, TV stations and newspapers. According to the press release put out this morning:

The acquisition gives Hearst extensive global digital marketing capabilities, including paid search, search engine optimization, Web development, mobile and social marketing, and data analytics.

And according to the WSJ’s article iCrossing will continue to operate as a stand-alone business and presumably service SEM clients of all types. Here’s what iCrossing CEO Don Scales said to us in answer to a question about whether there are any concerns about being able to continue to service other, non-Hearst clients:

iCrossing has no concerns whatsoever; we will grow to meet demand. Hearst’s No. 1 commitment is to support the independent growth of iCrossing, ensuring our continued success at connecting brands with customers and providing measurable ROI through digital channels. Hearst’s status as one of the largest, private global media companies puts them in position to aggressively invest in our services, technology, and people.

On the other side of the country Marin Software announced that it had raised an $11.2 million Series D round. That brings to total raised to date to just over $33 million. The company will use the money to continue to invest in its platform and to expand further outside the US. Marin competes with other SEM platform providers like Kenshoo and to a lesser degree Clickable.