Ratings and box office measurement company Rentrak said Tuesday that it has reached an agreement to acquire Nielsen EDI, the motion picture measurement, information and research solutions business of The Nielsen Co.
Nielsen EDI will be integrated into Rentrak's ADI division and its Box Office Essentials business, which currently provides box-office information for theaters in the U.S., Canada, Guan and Puerto Rico. The addition of Neilsen EDI will expand that reach to 14 and combined will capture box office results from more than 50,000 movie screens in 14 countries including Australia, the United Kingdom, France and Germany.
As part of the transaction, Nielsen will enter into a long-term data license agreement with Rentrak for continued access to certain box office sales information for certain of its existing products and services. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2010.
"This strategic transaction will provide Rentrak with a substantial global platform, further enabling our ability to provide robust measurement capabilities and analytics to entertainment, media and advertising companies throughout the world, and from which to pursue new business opportunities," said Rentrak CEO Bill Livek in a statement
