Comcast To Acquire Video Ad Platform FreeWheel

Sources familiar with the deal have confirmed to Re/code that Comcast is acquiring FreeWheel, a prominent online video ad platform whose clients include NBCUniversal, Fox, Turner, Viacom and Sky.

TechCrunch first reported the acquisition this morning, pegging the price at $320 million. FreeWheel had raised more than $30 million in outside funding since the company launched in 2007.

It generated around $35 million in revenue in 2013, according to a source familiar with the matter.

FreeWheel was envisioned to be the video equivalent of DoubleClick, the display ad company acquired by Google in 2008 for $3.1 billion. It later entered display ads as well, becoming an occasional direct competitor to DoubleClick.

Prior to the acquisition, FreeWheel was rumored to have been mulling an IPO that now, of course, will not be happening.

Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, which is a minority investor in Re/code.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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