Pixels acquired by US-based Gravity4

Gravity4, the US-based ad tech company, has acquired a 93.7% ownership stake in Pixels to gain entry into the South East Asia and Hong Kong markets. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.Gravity4 plans on acquiring 6.3% of Pixels shares in the next few months and integrate Pixels into the Gravity4 Marketing Cloud. Pixels co-founder and CEO Kevin Huang (pictured) will continue to lead the company in Asia.The group will be adding 100 employees globally, combining the group’s revenue in Asia to surpass US$40 million in 2016.“Pixels not only boasts one of the smartest management teams I’ve ever met, but they have also built a great business and a mobile DCO platform that we can’t wait to deploy on a global level,” said Gurbaksh Chahal, Chairman and CEO of Gravity4.“We’re also very excited about entering Asia and introducing our marketing cloud and programmatic offering to this dynamic market,” said Chahal.Throughout Asia and the world, marketers are rapidly adopting digital advertising and the sector is experiencing high growth.According to eMarketer, digital ad spend in the Asia Pacific region is expected to rise 22% to $70 billion in 2016, with mobile and video advertising platforms being key to this growth.Recently, Pixels introduced mobile ad offerings that include HTML5-based rich media creatives that encourage advertisers to engage users.Combining with Gravity4 will further expand Pixels' ability to provide end-to-end solutions for clients, Kevin Huang, co-founder and CEO of Pixels, told Marketing.“With the introduction of Gravity4’s marketing cloud to the Asian market, our customers will reap the benefits of modern cloud marketing technology, as Asia sits at the cusp of a digital advertising boom,” he said.Pixels was created in October 2014, the result a merger between Pixel Media, Snap Mobile, and Adsfactor, and is one of the largest digital media entities in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.The company has more than 100 employees and is headquarters in Hong Kong, with additional offices in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Shanghai.Pixel's acquisition marks the latest step in Gravity4's aggressive growth strategy. The ad tech company has acquired 13 digital firms around the world over the past two years, including EuroAds, Wayne Powers, Ezlike and Zurmo, to name but a few.