An interesting acquisition by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S (part of French media giant Lagardere): it has bought out Jumpstart Automotive Media, the SF-based vertical ad network focused on the auto industry. The price: a cash payment of $84 million, and additional amount of $26 million based on future performance.

Hachette owns auto media brands such as Car and Driver, Road & Track and Cycle World, and Jumpstart will start selling ads for CarandDriver.com, RoadandTrack.com and CycleWorld.com. The ad network will remain as a separate brand. Jumpstart reported 2006 revenues of $17.1 million (double 2005), and was cash-positive at end 2006.
The network was founded in 2000, and didn’t take any round of funding until last year, when it raised $10 million from Alta Communications. It acts as an ad-rep for automotive inventory on a variety of sites, including NADAguides, Vehix and J.D. Power Autos. It also sells auto ads that run on ValueClick, one of the Web’s largest ad networks, and search listings on Yahoo and Google.

For Hachette and its parent Lagardere, it has indicated its M&A ambitions in the digital media sphere...see related links below. More acquisition details in release.

• Lagardere Media To Cut Up To 1,000 Jobs; Online Big Focus
• Lagardere Restructures Media; Internet M&A Possible In U.S.