Yahoo acquires video ad service BrightRoll for US $640 million

Yahoo has bought automated advertising service BrightRoll for pay about US $640 million to beef up its ability to sell video ads in real-time to marketers.

The deal sustains Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Marissa Mayer's acquisition spree and sharpens Yahoo's focus on video ads, which it hopes can offset declining Internet ad prices and decelerating growth.

Buying BrightRoll, which is profitable and expected to have revenues of over US $100 million in 2014, will make Yahoo's video advertising platform the largest in the United States, the American internet major said in a statement on Tuesday.