News

Chinese investor splashes $1.4 billion on mobile marketing platform AppLovin

US ad firm gets Chinese ownership

Date Type Companies involved Size
September 26th, 2016 acquisition AppLovin $1,400m
Chinese investor splashes $1.4 billion on mobile marketing platform AppLovin

Chinese investment firm Orient Hontai Capital has acquired a majority stake in mobile ad company AppLovin for $1.4 billion.

AppLovin plans to further scale its business globally following the deal by expanding into new markets, such as China.

The mobile marketing company will continue to operate out of its HQ in Palo Alto California. Founding team members Tariq Ahmed, Omer Hasan, Mark Rosner, Robert Russo, Basil Shikin and Rafael Vivas are expected to stay on at the firm.

The deal is expected to close during the fourth financial quarter of 2016.

Self-starters

AppLovin was founded in 2011 and has never taken any venture capital funding. It did however raise $4 million in angel investment from investors such as Eduardo Vivas, John Burbank and Webb Investment Network.

According to AppLovin, advertisers are set to spend nearly $500 million on its marketing platform in 2016.

“We’ve seen a high volume of interest in our business, and we ultimately chose to partner with Orient Hontai because of their strong connections in the Chinese market,” said AppLovin CEO Adam Foroughi.

“Our goals are perfectly aligned, and we share a commitment to scale globally and to continue the highest standards of operation. The AppLovin team is excited to begin this next phase and expand reach into new geographic regions.”


Head of Content

Craig Chapple is a freelance analyst, consultant and writer with specialist knowledge of the games industry. He has previously served as Senior Editor at PocketGamer.biz, as well as holding roles at Sensor Tower, Nintendo and Develop.