Blackstone will invest $400 million in mobile app marketing platform Liftoff

The investment firm Blackstone announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to invest in performance-based mobile app marketing platform Liftoff. 

The investment is expected to close in early 2021. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but according to a person familiar with the deal, the deal is valued at $400 million. 

Martin Brand, Co-Head of U.S. Acquisitions for Blackstone’s Private Equity Group, said in a statement: “Liftoff is an independent leader in the marketplace for mobile ads. Blackstone has significant experience investing in the fast-growing mobile ecosystem, and we are excited to back Mark and his team as they continue the rapid growth of Liftoff.”

This is not the first time Blackstone invested in a company in the mobile industry. New-York based Blackstone had closed the acquisition of mobile performance marketing platform Vungle.  

“We’re excited to be partnering with Blackstone, one of the premier private equity firms in the world,” said Mark Ellis, CEO and co-founder of Liftoff. “Blackstone’s expertise will be invaluable as we continue to scale our company globally, expand our product offerings and help more mobile marketers build a growing audience of engaged users for their mobile experiences.”

Liftoff had raised $5 million in a seed round in 2015, and today serves more than 1 billion ads a day across 50,000 mobile app publishers.