Yahoo acquires app analytics firm Flurry

Company reportedly pays $200m-$300m for startup as display ad revenue falters

Yahoo has acquired an app analytics startup called Flurry, seemingly in an attempt to boost the company's advertising revenue in the smartphone market.

Yahoo has not disclosed the precise amount it paid for Flurry, but reports indicate figures within the region of $200m-$300m (£117m-£175m) - a modest enough valuation in the sector, but a considerable outlay for Yahoo which reported profits of only $270m during Q2, 18 per cent down on Q2 2013. Almost half of this drop was due to reduced profits from digital display advertising.

According to its website, Flurry's "mission" is to "optimise the mobile experience through better apps and more personal ads".

Using data from "150 billion app sessions per month," it says, Flurry can "turn this insight into accelerated revenue and growth solutions for publishers and developers, and more effective mobile advertising solutions for brands and marketers."

Flurry lists Skype, Zynga and BBC Worldwide among its customer base.

Yahoo's acquisition of Flurry comes just weeks after Facebook acquired advertising technology company LiveRail. The value of that transaction was reported to be in the region of $400m-$500m.

During its Q2 earnings report, Yahoo revealed that over 450 million of its monthly visits come from mobile devices - a 36 per cent increase year-on-year.

The company's mobile display and search revenue grew more than 100 per cent year-on-year in Q2, even if its mobile ad revenues did not.

"Yahoo's growth in mobile traffic comes from great people and great products," said Scott Burke, Yahoo's SVP for advertising technology, in a statement.

"Flurry's success is the result of years of committed investment by a passionate team to create an indispensable platform for mobile developers.

"We want to harness our collective innovative spirit and bolster the mobile ecosystem by providing developers the analytics and monetisation solutions to drive their success," Burke said.