Just six months after the UK-based B2B media group Ascentual paid $60.8m for a 35% share in Jumpshot Inc, of the US, it is selling the shares back and quitting its “strategic alliance”.
The deal had been trumpeted as promising “unparalleled visibility, analytical insights and a more comprehensive understanding of the online customer journey that delivers a highly competitive advantage”. Jumpshot is the marketing analytics subsidiary of Avast plc, a Czech-based global cybersecurity provider which acquired the US company in 2013. It tracks what websites users visit, when and on what device.
In addition to its initial share purchase, Ascential had an option to acquire a majority stake in Jumpshot from 2021.
The UK public company gave no explanation of the divestment. But Ascential’s announcement coincided with claims that Avast has been selling user data to companies including Expedia, IBM and L’Oreal. It had allegedly scraped customers’ own data from its software before passing it to Jumpshot, which was then said to have repackaged and sold the data. Google searches, location searches, activity on companies’ LinkedIn pages, and YouTube visits are all claimed to have been collected and sold.
Motherboard, the tech service of Vice Media, has reported: “An antivirus program used by hundreds of millions of people around the world is selling highly sensitive web browsing data to many of the world’s biggest companies, a joint investigation by Motherboard and PCMag has found. Our report relies on leaked user data, contracts, and other company documents that show the sale of this data is both highly sensitive and is, in many cases, supposed to remain confidential between the company selling the data and the clients purchasing it.”
Avast said yesterday: “In December 2019, we acted quickly to meet browser store standards and are now compliant with browser extension requirements for our online security extensions.” The £4bn company’s London registered shares have lost 28% in the past five days, almost half of it yesterday.
Avast finally said last night (30 January) that it will close its $180m Jumpshot subsidiary.
Investors waiting for Ascential‘s 2019 results next month will expect the £1.5bn B2B information-and-events group to explain what it has learned (or needs to do next) after its little brush with data pirates. But its expected EBITDA of £126m (31% margin, and 17% up on 2018) should keep them happy.
