ICrossing announced today that it has acquired 3GNet GmbH, a German digital marketing agency, for an undisclosed amount.
“We certainly see it as vital in our expansion throughout Europe. Germany is a key market,” said Jeff Herzog, founder and CEO of iCrossing, of the acquisition. “We’re fortunate that we built a relationship and were able to do this deal with what we consider the leading performance marketing company in Germany.”
3GNet GmbH is the fifth acquisition that iCrossing, a digital marketing company headquartered in Scottsdale, AZ, has made since late 2006. In addition to 3GNet GmbH, the company has acquired the Bay Area-based search engine marketing agency NewGate, UK-based search and social media agency Spannerworks, dashboard technology provider Sharp Analytics and Web development firm Proxicom.
“These acquisitions are based upon an overall strategy that’s been put in place in the last couple of years,” said Don Scales, president and COO of iCrossing. “We had a road map for how we wanted to build a next generation digital marketing company,” he said.
With this latest acquisition, iCrossing has grown to approximately 620 employees, of which 200 or so are based in Europe, Scales said. The company now has 15 offices throughout the US and Europe.
3GNet GmbH, founded in 1999 by Patrick Bertermann and Oliver Grünig, provides natural and paid search marketing and affiliate marketing services. Its clients include global brands such as eBay and Espirit, as well as such European brands as Görtz, Allianz 24 and HSE24. The company, which consists of about 70 employees, is headquartered in Munich and has an office in Berlin.
“One of the main reasons why we acquired this company is because Jeff and I really like the two founders,” Scales said. “We set it up so that they report into the organization, but it’s pretty much business as usual for them going forward.”
Within the next 60 days or so, 3GNet GmbH will convert to the iCrossing brand, Scales said.
