Sprint has sold Pinsight Media, the mobile data and advertising company it created in 2012, to InMobi, which provides technology for marketers.
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.