Halifax-based LeadSift third company acquired by IDG Communications in last 18 months

IDG Communications has acquired Halifax-based B2B sales and marketing intelligence platform LeadSift. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

LeadSift will continue to operate independently of IDG for the time being, while its data will be integrated into IDG’s marketing solutions. Longer-term, IDG plans to integrate LeadSift into its Marketing platform.

“Intent data is one [of] the fastest-growing segments in the B2B Marketing and Sales landscape.”
 

LeadSift co-founder and CEO Tapajyoti (Tukan) Das told BetaKit that IDG offers “some of the richest proprietary first-party data for B2B marketers” through its media properties, events, and other sources, calling the potential to combine this data with LeadSift’s current public web-based third-party intent data “incredibly powerful.” Das also highlighted that IDG’s global reach and presence in over 50 countries were also a draw.

“Intent data is one [of] the fastest-growing segments in the B2B Marketing and Sales landscape,” said Das. “This gives us the fuel to continue building the most actionable Intent Data product and reach Enterprise customers globally.”

Founded in 2012 by Das, Daniel Allen, Sreejata Chatterjee, and Hatem Nassrat, LeadSift offers an intent data platform designed to help B2B tech companies identify which accounts are in-market and who to speak to. The startup analyzes and extracts insights from “millions of real-time web documents” in order to help sales teams find qualified leads from the web.

Chatterjee argued that “having a view into those intent signals at the contact level provides a massive competitive advantage and directs your sales team to engage with the right buyers at the right time.”

Das declined to share the financial terms of the deal, but called it “a great outcome for all our shareholders and employees of LeadSift.” The startup’s past investors include OMERS Ventures and Salesforce Ventures.

“LeadSift was one of the first investments made by OMERS Ventures, back in 2012, and Tukan and Sreejata have been amazing to work with over the years,” OMERS Ventures Partner Brian Kobus told BetaKit. “So it’s really satisfying to see Leadsift join forces with IDG and we’re excited to see what they’ll accomplish as part of a bigger platform.”

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LeadSift’s management and 15-person team will stay on and remain based in Halifax as part of the deal.

Kobus said he views the acquisition as a “smart transaction” for both LeadSift and IDG. “The team at Leadsift is really strong and they’ve built a compelling offering,” he said. “The combination with IDG Communication’s resources and complementary offerings will allow LeadSift to greatly expand its market reach.”

According to Massachusetts-based IDG, its acquisition of LeadSift “provides another level of actionable intent data for technology marketers looking to identify the right leads for scaling their revenue.”

The deal is IDG’s third acquisition in 18 months. The firm’s marketing tech (MarTech) stack also includes Triblio, an account-based marketing (ABM) platform it acquired last year, and KickFire, a marketing data and intelligence solution it acquired earlier this fall, both of which are already integrated into IDG’s data set and websites.

“LeadSift’s technology in collaboration with our MarTech stack is the right next step for solving complex marketing problems,” said Kumaran Ramanathan, president of IDG Communications.

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IDG Communications is a subsidiary of media and data company International Data Group, which was acquired by New York-based private equity firm Blackstone last month for $1.3 billion USD. IDG Communications’ tech media properties include Computerworld, InfoWorld, Macworld, Network World, PCWorld, and Tech Hive.

“Having the presence of such a huge media behemoth in Halifax is great for Halifax,” said Das. “I am sure being part of a large organization like IDG is going to give knowledge and experience to the entire LeadSift team—which would manifest into the wider startup ecosystem for years to come.”

With the deal, LeadSift has become the second Halifax-based marketing software startup to be acquired over the last few months, joining Affinio, which was recently acquired by NowVertical Group for $9 million CAD.

“LeadSift is truly the product of the thriving tech ecosystem in Atlantic Canada,” said Das.

Feature image courtesy of LeadSift