FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German publisher Axel Springer said on Monday that its Stepstone jobs portal had bought an 85% stake in Appcast, a U.S. technology company specializing in so-called programmatic advertising, for around 70 million euros ($79 million). Programmatic advertising uses automation to serve job ads to people surfing the internet, using automation and analysis of their browsing history and interests, as they look at web sites. “Through this acquisition, Axel Springer is continuing with its growth strategy and is expanding the portfolio of intelligent recruiting and matching technologies of Stepstone group,” Springer said in a statement. The main shareholders in the Berlin-based publisher recently struck a deal with U.S. private equity investor KKR to buy out minority shareholders for 63 euros a share, a deal that would allow them to jointly pursue long-term growth. Reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Michelle Martin
Axel Springer’s Stepstone jobs portal has paid about €70m ($79m) for an 85% stake in US-based Appcast, which specialises in programmatic advertising.