Deal for Neustar Is a Twist in Battle to ID Consumers Across Devices
Neustar is in a race with a handful of marketing data and technology services firms to be the go-to choice for consumer identity and connectivity dominance, and private investment firm Golden Gate Capital is betting a long-term strategy will help the company get there. Announced Wednesday, Golden Gate acquired Neustar, a firm with a long-standing telco data business that only entered the marketing space a few years ago, in a deal valued at $2.9 billion.
The pact halts Neustar’s plan, announced in June, to split in two, extricating its sexier but less-lucrative marketing services business — the one attracting public investors — from its staid older sibling, the number portability business, which handles things like caller ID and phone number management.
“We are discontinuing the work around the split and staying as one company,” said Neustar President-CEO Lisa Hook.
