:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63700346/gurbaksh-chahal.0.1544278446.0.jpg)
Gurbaksh Chahal, the ousted CEO of RadiumOne, has made an offer via to buy the advertising marketing platform back.
Chahal, as anyone who followed the saga at the San Francisco company he founded recalls, was fired from his job after a controversy that developed after his conviction for battery and domestic violence. After a very heated period, tensions between Chahal and RadiumOne have lessened of late.
The entrepreneur, who remains a major shareholder of RadiumOne, went on to found Gravity4, a high-frequency marketing operating system. A term sheet obtained by Re/code — titled “For the Proposed Acquistion of All Outstanding Shares of RadiumOne (Company) by NewCo formed by Gurbaksh Chahal and his Investor Group (Buyer)” — does not name the price, but sources said it is nine figures.
But other sources said it was low, less than one times the 2014 revenue of RadiumOne and well below recent pricey acquisition deals in the ad tech space such as Oracle’s purchase of Datalogix and Yahoo’s of BrightRoll.
In a statement, RadiumOne said as much:
“While we are obligated to review all offers and will do so at the next board meeting, RadiumOne is not for sale and not with an offer that fails to reflect the value that has been built in the company. With a record second half behind it and the company poised for strong growth in 2015, RadiumOne will continue with its current plans to build an enduring and substantial company under the steady hand of existing leadership.”
That is obviously a slap at Chahal, who is still not likely to go away. He has previously called for the sale of RadiumOne. Sources said the price that Chahal was bandying about for the real-time bidding advertising company was just over $400 million.
Interestingly, sources said both Yahoo and Oracle, as well as Adobe, have looked at buying RadiumOne in recent months, part of a growing frenzy in the ad tech space to add features and capabilities by larger companies.
Chahal is the largest shareholder of RadiumOne, owning one-third of its shares. The company has raised $33.5 million in funding, including from him. He’s also had a big score in selling startups before — his BlueLithium was purchased by Yahoo in 2007 for $300 million.
Update: Chahal responded to the RadiumOne response to his bid:
“RadiumOne is much better in the hands of a more sophisticated management team and a company with heavy investment firepower. Gravity4 has both, the capital, the vision and leadership. I can only hope the board realizes the industry is going through its consolidation phase and accepts this offer for the sake of the employees of RadiumOne before it’s too late.”
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
