Bird & Bird advises Seedtag on the acquisition of recognified

Bird & Bird announced it advised Madrid-based contextual advertising platform Seedtag on the acquisition of German digital advertising firm recognified, as Seedtag moves to consolidate its lead position in contextual AI in Europe and Latin America.

The team overseeing the deal was led by associate Marcel Nurk, counsel Michael Gassner, partner Stefan Münch and associate Marijana Simonova from Bird & Bird’s corporate practice, as well as partner Dr. Ralph Panzer and associates Regina Donauer and Laura Schildberg, from the firm's employment practice in Munich. Partner Loudres Ayala and associate Julia Valiente also advised on the deal from Madrid.

The firm also advised in Seedtag's acquisition of its Italian competitor AtomikAd last November.

By acquiring a German company, Seedtag gains a valuable foothold in a key European contextual advertising market that’s second only to the UK in digital investment rates. The company currently has a wide-ranging international presence, with offices in France, the UK, Spain, Italy, the Benelux countries, Mexico, Brazil and Colombia.

Seedtag and recognified have already independently established themselves as leading specialists in the digital contextual marketing arena. The deal is underpinned by both companies’ shared vision for future contextual advertising centered on incorporating real-time insights into AI advertising algorithms. The integration will take place over the course of the year, building on recognified’s established infrastructure in Germany to bring clients “brand-safe and privacy first” advertising formats across the region.

Speaking on the deal, Seedtag co-CEO Jorge Poyatos called the move a “strategic acquisition” for the company.

“recognified has developed strong computer vision capabilities that will reinforce our contextual AI and strengthen Seedtag’s understanding of consumer’s interests in a privacy-focused manner”, he said in a statement.

Emilia Kirk, global head of growth at Seedtag, highlighted the move’s potential to impact on their authority in the UK market alongside strengthening their presence in Europe as a whole.

“As the market booms, we need to boom with it and twinning this acquisition of recognified with the recent takeover of AtomikAd shows how we envision Seedtag moving forward, and the path that we look to walk for the coming months and years,” she said.