The ASX-listed Pureprofile, which has paid $18 million plus earn-out for Cohort, says the merger creates a leading Australian-owned business that can deliver one of the most “comprehensive data insights, programmatic media and lead generation offerings” in Australia and internationally.

Post-completion of the deal, Pureprofile says it will have more than 650 clients and publisher relationships, a growing database of 3.5 million registered consumer profiles and more than 230 staff across Australia, NZ, US, UK and Europe.

Pureprofile founder and chief executive Paul Chan says the merger is a “game-changing” addition and the deal accelerates the rollout of Pureprofile’s “market leading” direct-to-consumer technology platform and msuite of applications.

“Cohort is highly complementary, it strengthens our market presence in Australia and internationally, and ensures we can deliver one of the strongest offerings encompassing data insights, programmatic media, lead generation and digital marketing to our clients and publishers.

“We are experiencing a considerable shift as marketers move large spends into data and insight driven marketing. Cohort will deliver greater scale across our combined domestic and international operations. In particular I believe the companies are most aligned around a shared principle of putting the consumer first and creating truly relevant marketing experiences.”

Under the deal, Cohort co-founders Marcelo Ulvert (chief executive) and Malcolm Treanor (chief operating officer) will join Pureprofile’s senior leadership team and continue to drive Cohort’s expansion.

Ulvert says: “We see great synergies with Pureprofile’s technology platform and are completely aligned on our vision around quality and continued globalisation with a focus on care for the consumer.

“Cohort has been a market leader since we founded the business in 2008. By becoming part of Pureprofile we will have the additional technology and financial capacity to really accelerate our growth.”