Kantar Media gets bought out for $1 billion as ad measurement rapidly changes

Article by Daniel Konstantinovic | Jan 21, 2025

The news: Kantar Media has a new owner. The measurement and analytics firm is being bought by private equity firm H.I.G. Capital in a $1 billion deal, the companies announced, adding another acquisition to a busy period for advertising industry deals.

The deal comes two years after Kantar Group set up Kantar Media to be operationally independent amid a significant shakeup in the measurement sector.
“H.I.G. Capital positions Kantar Media to continue its investments in technological and geographic leadership,” Kantar Group CEO Chris Jansen said in a statement. “Kantar will be even more focused on helping both global and local brands to grow through a unique combination of IP, data assets, and increasing the rapid deployment of AI.”

The measurement opportunity: Kantar’s $1 billion price tag comes three years after rival and longtime industry leader Nielsen was purchased by a consortium of private equity firms in a $16 billion deal. Those valuations come as the sector is poised to undergo significant change, setting the stage for an industry power struggle.

The shift away from long-established audience measurement toward cross-media solutions, the emergence of multiple ad formats like retail media, and the rise of generative AI means there are opportunities for measurement firms to establish themselves as leaders in a rapidly changing landscape.
The transition from linear to connected TVs has increased demand for more robust audience measurement tools, presenting an opportunity to unseat Nielsen as the industry standard. While alternatives have been slow to catch on, the 2025 Upfront season could mark a turning point for Nielsen’s dominance.
Kantar assisted the Association of National Advertisers in the creation of cross-media measurement solution Aquila, launched in 2024. Its participation in Aquila, which is also backed by Amazon, Google, and Meta, puts a significant ad industry stamp of approval under its belt.

Our take: Kantar’s global presence and repute makes it a notable measurement competitor to watch as the industry undergoes significant change. The $1 billion purchase underscores the opportunity private equity firms see in providing measurement solutions to an ad industry still coming to grips with rapidly evolving tools.