ComScore measures worth of M:Metrics, pays $44.3M plus stock to own

Less than a year after The Nielsen Co. acquired mobile research and measurement firm Telephia, digital measurement company comScore Inc. made its own move into mobile. The firm announced it purchased M:Metrics Inc. – Telephia’s former rival – in a deal worth $44.3 million and 50,000 shares, available to “certain M:Metrics unvested option holders,” according to the companies.
“With the substantial growth of 3G devices and Internet friendly handsets, we believe we are now at an inflection point in Internet usage on mobile devices,” said Magid Abraham, comScore’s CEO. “Our acquisition of M:Metrics makes comScore an immediate market leader in this space and positions comScore to deliver significant shareholder value as wireless carriers, telecom equipment providers, media companies, advertising agencies, online publishers, and marketers extend their reach into the mobile Internet world.”
ComScore tracks the online and offline purchasing actives of more than 2 million people. The addition of a mobile measurement function will allow the company to sell into M:Metrics’ customer base as well as provide cross-media measurement and analytics.
M:Metrics tracks mobile phone usage through online surveys and on-device software, and also tracks mobile advertising campaigns.