News Corp to Buy Video Platform Unruly for $90 Million

News Corp on Wednesday announced plans to acquire social-video advertising platform Unruly for about $90 million, a move aimed at extending the company's expertise in the digital and mobile-video area.

U.K.-based Unruly, founded in 2006, tracks the distribution of video across mobile, desktop and tablet devices. The company uses historical sharing data to predict the potential for video ads to go viral.

News Corp, which owns The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires, said the cash transaction is subject to an additional $86 million in future consideration related to certain performance objectives. The company expects the deal to close by the end of the month.

News Corp businesses will begin offering Unruly products to advertising partners in the coming months. The move is expected to result in more premium video and mobile ad inventory, the company said.

Unruly will operate as a separate business unit that reports to Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of News UK.

Write to Lisa Beilfuss at [e-mail]

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 16, 2015 10:15 ET (14:15 GMT)

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