It was announced this morning that Deutsche Post has acquired Nugg.ad for an undisclosed sum - but the figure is likely to be upwards of 40 million euro. Nugg.ad is one of Europe's leading behavioural targeting companies, and has recently entered the UK market. This is the second German BT company to be acquired this year, after Wunderloop was bought out by Audience Science. Deutsche Post is Europe's largest mail services operator, and has firm plans to grow its business in the onlien sector. This acquisition will gives Deutsch Post a big slice of the growing BT market. There might also be some cross-over in terms of data targeting, as Deutsche Post also run a fairly large direct mail operation. It is understood that Nugg.ad will continue to be run as an independent, and the deal will not affect its current operations.

Here's the press release in full:

Berlin/Bonn, August 24th 2010: In taking over nugg.ad AG, Deutsche Post AG is acquiring Europe’s largest targeting platform and in so doing has expanded its competence as a service provider in the on-line advertising market. With this investment in the leading targeting technology, the Group has consolidated new areas of growth in online marketing fully in accordance with its 2015 strategy. As a subsidiary, nugg.AG will continue to be an independent targeting service provider for marketers and advertising agencies from the company’s headquarters in Berlin. The company structure remains unchanged and will be expanded.

Targeting in the online field includes targeted management of display advertising on websites to achieve as high a level as possible in terms of targeting effectiveness. With its platform for targeting marketing across sectors and the implementation of completely new approaches for branding campaigns nugg ad, the targeting market leader, is acting as a service provider for numerous players in the online advertising market such as publishers and media agencies. As a subsidiary of Deutsche Post, nugg.ad wants to drive forward the vision of a new market standard for targeting campaigns.

“nugg.ad is an ideal addition to Deutsche Post’s portfolio. Its solid track record of success and strength of innovation, as well as its clear focus on data protection and sustainability, impressed us,” says Jürgen Gerdes, Group chairman responsible for mail at Deutsche Post DHL “We are confident that we will establish our position in the online advertising market with nugg.ad and wish to make available a lasting independent technology platform for the European market,” says Gerdes.

“Since the company was founded in 2006, nugg.ad has not only been an initiator but has also driven innovation in the area of targeting. Deutsche Post has recognised this and will implement the vision of predictive behavioural targeting with nugg.ad as a solution for digital brand management for the future and establish it as a market standard. It is a dream combination for us because in Deutsche Post we have found a buyer that consolidates our position like no other as a neutral service provider in the value creation chain,” says Stephan Noller, CEO of nugg.ad.

“We financial investors are proud to have been a part of nugg.ad since 2006. A consortium of bmp, IBB, Media Ventures and the European Founders Fund, has been supporting the team in its development to become a leading European targeting supplier. We see in the acquisition by Deutsche Post clear potential for the company to continue to grow independently,” says Jens Spyrka, former AR chairman of nugg.ad and representative of the lead investors for bmp media investors.

Deutsche Post – Die Post fuer Deutschland

Deutsche Post is Europe's largest mail services operator, market leader in the German mail and parcel market, and a global player in international mail delivery. With its powerful Deutsche Post brand, the company continues to enhance its status as "Die Post für Deutschland". The portfolio ranges from standardized products to tailored solutions for private and business customers in the areas of mail communication, dialogue marketing, and parcel transport. Deutsche Post will continue to forge ever closer links between physical and electronic communications and in so doing strengthen its position as a one-stop provider of secure, simple, and reliable communications.

Further information on www.dp-dhl.de

About nugg.ad

nugg.ad AG is the leading provider of predictive behavioural targeting solutions for managing advertising in digital media. Nugg.ad allows advertisers, media agencies and marketers to significantly increase the effectiveness of advertising by delivering to relevant target groups. Predictive behavioural targeting’s unique approach allows simple user data to be enriched in real time with survey data concerning socio-demographics, product interests and lifestyle. Predictions (statistical profiles) that do not contain any personal data are used to do this. nugg.ad is the first targeting provider to be awarded the Data Protection Seal for its product from the Independent Regional Centre for Data Protection for Schleswig Holstein. At a European level, the nugg.ad product has also been certified with the European Privacy Seal, EuroPriSe. In 2008 nugg.ad was awarded the Red Herring 100 Europe and the European Seal of E-Excellence. bmp media investors and other financial investors have been shareholders in the company since the end of 2006. nugg.ad includes amongst its customers SevenOne Interactive, Axel Springer Media Impact, eBay Advertising Group, OMS, freeXmedia, IQ media, Stöer Interactive, ARBOinteractive, Unister Media, Ekstra Bladet, Scandinavia Online AS (SOL), KRONE.at, Expressen, Interia and Der Standard. In addition to its headquarters in Berlin, nugg.ad also has offices in Warsaw, Paris and London.

Further information is available on www.nugg.ad