Think Partnership, which owns SEM firm WebSourced, will acquire a majority stake in Crystal Reference Systems, a division of which - Crystal Semantics - uses statistical algorithms to bring contextual relevance to ads targeted on a web page, writes ClickZ. It analyzes all the words on a web page, not just keywords, to figure out its context and meaning.
This "Sense Engine," as Crystal calls it, can be used by Think's WebSourced and perhaps its Primary Ads and KowaBunga affiliate marketing subsidiaries, ClickZ speculates.
Think will initially acquire 51 percent of the company for $1.4 million cash and stock worth $153,000. The deal includes an option to buy the remaining 49 percent at a later date.
"We'll…create synergies among each of the companies," said Xavier Hermosillo, a director at Think who initiated the deal. He said Think would consider licensing the technology to other companies.
