Sony Pictures Television to acquire majority stake in IMS

Sony Pictures Television (SPT) said it signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in IMS Internet Media Services (IMS), one of the largest ad sales and media buying firms in digital space in Latin America.

SPT President of Worldwide Networks Andy Kaplan and IMS Founder, Partner and CEO Gaston Taratuta announced the agreement Wednesday.

"Gaston and his team are experts in the digital space and they have created a fantastic business across Latin America," Kaplan said. "With the sector growing exponentially and evolving quickly, we're looking forward to working together to grow our collective businesses. Additionally, we will integrate practices and intelligence with our networks and ad sales teams in the region and globally, making this an excellent extension of our current business."

The deal is expected to close in several weeks pending regulatory approval.

"SPT combines powerful programming with an international infrastructure and a leading leadership team," Taratuta said. "We look forward to the synergies these will bring to joint initiatives within Latin America and new regions."

IMS has headquarters in Miami and has offices in 11 countries throughout the region. Current commercial partnerships include Waze, Twitter, LinkedIn, Spotify, Crackle, iAds and Foursquare.

The digital ad sales outlook for Latin America is positioned for double-digit growth over the next five years.