Sprint sells mobile data company Pinsight to InMobi

Sprint has sold Pinsight Media, the mobile data and advertising company it created in 2012, to InMobi, which provides technology for marketers.
Sprint network and cost strategy
The fourth-largest U.S. wireless carrier by subscribers is selling Pinsight Media as it awaits regulatory approval to sell itself to larger rival T-Mobile US.

Pinsight uses data from wireless carriers to help companies better target ads on smartphones to the right audiences. That use of data was one major reason for AT&T’s acquisition of media company Time Warner in June.

Pinsight will continue to work with Sprint after the deal, said Rob Roy, Sprint’s chief digital officer, in a statement.

Sprint’s sale of Pinsight comes as mobile advertising in United States is expected to surpass television ad spending by more than $6 billion this year, according to eMarketer. The research firm estimates the gap will widen even more by 2022, with mobile spending at $141 billion compared to $68 billion on TV.

Former Pinsight CEO Kevin McGinnis said in 2015 that the company hoped to grow to a $1 billion business.

InMobi will expand its operations in North America to Kansas City, alongside San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

This move follows InMobi’s acquisition of AerServ for $90 million earlier this year in January, and its recent partnership with Microsoft in June.