The news: The Trade Desk is acquiring advertising data firm Sincera, with plans to close the deal in the current quarter, pending regulator approval. The Trade Desk previously invested in Sincera via its venture capital arm in 2023.

• The acquisition would give The Trade Desk, which operates one of the internet’s largest demand-side platforms (DSP), access to Sincera’s metadata to enhance its targeting and ad performance.
• The Trade Desk has only acquired one other company in its lifetime, making it an unusual move for the company. Although there were rumors that it could seek to acquire Roku or another connected TV operating system creator, the company instead opted to create its own technology.

What this means: The Trade Desk is facing competition from supply-side platforms that are beginning to offer competitive targeting data, which could threaten its market. With Sincera’s data, it can increase ad performance metrics for buyers and convince sellers to continue offering space on its DSP.

• Sincera and The Trade Desk partnered last year to publish a list of the top 100 digital publishers. The list used Sincera data to rank sites based on criteria including ad quality and visibility, reach, supply path efficiency, and distribution quality, the companies said.
• Robust data is what allows The Trade Desk to maintain its place as a middleman for digital advertising purchases. Buyers will be enticed by precise data in an era of growing signal loss.
• But sellers will also gain valuable insights such as what identifiers increase the value of their ad space—something that The Trade Desk, which operates post-cookie identification solution Unified ID 2.0, has an interest in providing.

Our take: As sellers begin to offer targeting data that rivals some DSPs, The Trade Desk and others will have to bolster their capabilities in order to maintain their positions. The Sincera acquisition is a sign that further advertising M&A is likely to come in 2025 as players look to capitalize on growing markets.

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