Yahoo has bought advertising platform BrightRoll for $640 million, making BrightRoll the second most expensive acquisitions behind Tumblr, which the company bought for $1 billion last year.

The acquisition, which was announced yesterday Nov. 11, is an all-cash deal that will combine Yahoo's desktop and mobile video advertising inventory with BrightRoll's programmatic video platform. BrightRoll is the first major acquisition by Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer using the proceeds Yahoo got from the IPO of Alibaba.

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Founded in 2006 by Tod Sacerdoti, the company's CEO, and Dru Nelson, BrightRoll's proprietary technology connects buyers and sellers of digital video advertising to help them reach audiences across web, mobile, and connected TV. BrightRoll is a large, growing and profitable business which receives 2 billion ad requests each day with net revenues expected to exceed $100 million this year.

BrightRoll powers digital video advertising for the world's largest brands and agencies, including 87 of the AdAge Top 100 US advertisers, all of the top 15 advertising agencies, and all 10 of the leading demand-side platforms.

The acquisition will speed up Yahoo's video advertising platform and further strengthen Yahoo's strategy, which is focused on search, communications, and digital content through growth in mobile, social, native, and video advertising.

Marissa Mayer said that the acquisition will make Yahoo's video ad platform "the largest in the United States". She also stated that she expects Tumblr to become a $100 million business for Yahoo next year. The CEO has been criticized for buying Tumblr last year as the deal she spent $1 billion on doesn't seem to be paying off.

BrightRoll's 400+ team including the company's management will be joining Yahoo. Scott Burke, Yahoo's senior vice president of ad technology, declined to specify what Tod Sacerdoti's title will be, except to say that he's "coming in as BrightRoll CEO." 

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