Bain Capital's Kantar Group has announced it plans to sell the media measurement and analytics firm Kantar Media for about $1 billion to H.I.G. Capital, a major global private equity firm with about $67 billion of capital under management.

In a statement, Chris Jansen, Kantar Group’s CEO, said: “We set up Kantar Media to be operationally independent in 2023, to allow it to consolidate its global leadership position in audience measurement. Today’s proposed partnership announcement with H.I.G. Capital positions Kantar Media to continue its investments in technological and geographical leadership.”

Kantar Media currently operates in more than 60 markets with a broad portfolio of solutions that spans audience measurement and data analytics, as well as media planning and validation.

Kantar Media CEO Patrick Béhar will continue to lead the business, the companies said.

“Over a year ago, I joined Kantar Media from Sky to accelerate the transformation of Kantar Media into an agile, technology-centric company, shaping the measurement industry through advanced cross-media solutions,” Béhar said. “This transaction would give us the resources and support to further accelerate our growth trajectory and strengthen our position as the global leader in media measurement and analytics. With H.I.G.’s expertise in scaling businesses and driving performance, we are more confident than ever in our ability to deliver innovative, data-driven solutions that meet the evolving needs of our growing client base all over the globe. Today is a fantastic moment for Kantar Media, its teams, its partners and its customers as we embark with H.I.G onto the next stage of our transformation.”

“We are excited to partner with Patrick and his talented team,” added Nishant Nayyar, managing director at H.I.G Capital. “Kantar Media has a long-standing reputation for delivering essential data and trusted insights to the global media industry. We are confident that as an independent business under the leadership of Patrick, the company will continue to thrive and lead the way in media measurement and analytics innovation”.

The transaction’s purchase price about $1 billion is anticipated to be primarily paid in cash, along with certain noncash considerations, including separation-related investments by H.I.G. Capital and an earn-out, the companies said.

The proposed transaction is expected to close later this year.

J.P. Morgan and Jefferies acted as financial advisers to Kantar Group on the proposed deal. Morgan Stanley & Co International acted as lead financial adviser and ING acted as financial adviser to H.I.G. Capital.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) today announced publication of standards, which specify the use of Kantar Media’s audio watermarking technology, for binding Ad-IDs to commercials and Entertainment ID Registry (EIDR) codes to programming content.

"This standard has been called the media industry's equivalent of the 'Universal Product Code [UPC]'" said Jane Clarke, CEO and managing director of the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM). "Similar to the standardized ID that improved accuracy and efficiency for the retail consumer packaged-goods industry, Ad-ID and EIDR will enable advertising and content identifiers to remain embedded throughout the media distribution ecosystem."

The SMPTE 24TB Open Binding of IDs Drafting Group created and published two new sets of standards and recommended practices. ST 2112-10 and RP 2112-11 pertains to the Open Binding of Content Identifiers (OBID), and ST 2112-20 and RP 2112-21 relates to the Open Binding of Distribution Channel IDs and Timestamps.

Both will become building blocks for advancement of cross-platform measurement and content integration, SMPTE said. The standards, which support real-time identification of a piece of content, will mitigate inefficiencies in cross-platform video distribution and measurement workflow.

In particular, the ability to embed these IDs throughout the media ecosystems will improve the efficiency of ad agencies, media companies and marketers. Faster ad verification and audience measurement made possible by the identifiers will one day make it easier for marketers to optimize live and on-demand advertising in a manner similar to how they optimize online advertising, said SMPTE.

The identifiers also will make it easier for television networks and content publishers to offer integrated multiscreen experiences, SMPTE said.

A SMPTE Standards Drafting Group, supported by Ad-ID, a joint venture of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As) recommended Kantar Media’s audio watermarking technology. It was also recommended by EIDR, an industry association operating a registry of over 1 million unique, global identifiers for digital entertainment assets, including motion pictures and television content; and CIMM, whose members represent leading content owners, large advertisers, and media buying agencies.

The new standards are available for purchase from the SMPTE digital library.

SMPTE has also made available a podcast on the standards.