Additional $2 Million Will be Invested to Propel Kontextua’s Expansion in the U.S. and Latin America and its Development of New Digital Advertising Platforms
Miami – RedMas, the digital advertising unit of the Cisneros Group of Companies, today announced the acquisition of Kontextua, an online advertising company with an expansive network in Latin America and Spain. The acquisition will strengthen the Group’s digital presence in the U.S. Hispanic market and Latin America. In addition, RedMas will invest $2 million in Kontextua to create new digital advertising platforms, and to extend the online network’s reach in the U.S. Hispanic market, as well as in Chile, Mexico, Brazil and Colombia.
“Latin America’s $2.5 billion digital advertising market is growing at an accelerated rate of 15 to 20 percent annually. With Internet penetration at only 35% in the region, this market holds vast potential for RedMas,” says Cisneros Group’s Chief Digital Officer Victor Kong. “The acquisition will not only contribute revenue to the Cisneros Group’s other sites, such as www.venevision.com, www.noticierovenevision.com, and www.missvenezuela.com, but it will also complement its new business strategy of focusing on digital advertising, e-commerce, and social gaming.”
Kontextua was founded two years ago by Germán Herebia and Carlos Córdoba, and developed into an innovative online advertising platform for the creation and commercialization of unexploited online advertising real estate. In doing so it has generated a new source of income for its more than 12,000 Spanish- and Portuguese-language affiliated sites that reach over 60 million unique viewers. Kontextua’s technology scans website content, recognizing texts and images that can serve as anchors for contextual advertising. Advertisers can then select from a variety of content categories or key words related to their products or services, and advertise against various audience segments.
With the acquisition, Mr. Herebia, co-founder of InZearch, and Mr. Cordoba, co-founder of ePlanning, join the Cisneros Group’s digital management team.
“We are pleased to be part of an organization with a clear digital vision, and to be at the forefront of the expansion of its online advertising businesses in the region as part of the RedMas brand,” says Mr. Herebia.
Separately, Mr. Córdoba says, “We continue to focus on technological innovations in digital advertising services, and with RedMas’ support, we are certain to accelerate the developmental process, enabling us to introduce several new innovations in the coming months.”
Kontextua is the leading contextual advertising network in Spanish and Portuguese speaking markets, which allows sites and blogs to monetize their advertising inventory across multiple formats, including in-text and in-image advertising. The network currently has more than 12,000 affiliated websites reaching an audience of 60 million Spanish and Portuguese speakers, and has over 800 advertisers with regional advertising campaigns.
The Cisneros Group of Companies is one of the largest privately held media, entertainment, telecommunications and consumer products organizations in the world. The Cisneros Group wholly owns or controls companies ranging from broadcast television and television production to consumer products, and real estate. The Group sells TV programming and other media content on five continents and in over 90 countries. Its media and entertainment holdings include Venevision, the leading television network in Venezuela; Venevision International, a global Spanish-language entertainment company; and Venevision Productions, a supplier of top-tier telenovelas for North American and world audiences. In addition, the Cisneros Group owns several digital assets, including RedMas, its digital advertising unit, Cuponidad, an online couponing site, and the websites www.venevision.com, www.noticierovenevision.net, and www.missvenezuela.com.
