Martech business Zeta Global has set out to to acquire email marketing platform LiveIntent, with plans to to expand its identity resolution capabilities by integrating LiveIntent's extensive identity graph, which includes over 235 million unique hashed email addresses per month.

LiveIntent, founded in 2009, has been at the forefront of people-based marketing, with proprietary technology powering mobile-centric experiences and first-party identity solutions.

"We are excited to welcome LiveIntent to Team Zeta as we continue to build out our position and sharpen our differentiation in AI-powered marketing," said Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Zeta Global, David A. Steinberg.

The acquisition will also see Zeta expand into publisher monetisation with the addition of LiveIntent's 2,000+ premium publishers, including relationships with eight of the top 10 largest in the Comscore rankings. Zeta plans to launch a new product offering, the Publisher Cloud, creating a closed-loop ecosystem that rivals the reach and targeting capabilities of walled gardens.

"As more brands view first-party data as a corporate asset, seek to make AI actionable, and move towards a single platform that powers more efficient and effective marketing across the customer lifecycle, this acquisition accelerates Zeta's flywheel and positions the combined company to continue to grow faster than the market," Steinberg said.

The total consideration for the acquisition is $250 million, subject to customary adjustments, in the form of $77.5 million in cash-on-hand and $172.5 million in common stock at closing. The agreement also provides for a potential earnout of 50% cash and 50% stock tied to significant Adjusted EBITDA growth and sustained margin expansion targets in each of fiscal years 2025, 2026, and 2027. The maximum potential earn-out consideration is $25 million per year for each of the three years.

"We've been extremely impressed with Zeta's exceptional growth and proven ability to deliver real impact to their global customers," said CEO of LiveIntent, Matt Keiser.

Zeta has also agreed to issue $25 million in Performance Stock Units to the LiveIntent management team tied to certain performance and retention targets for fiscal years 2025, 2026, and 2027. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024 and is subject to customary closing conditions.