Online video engine Blinkx splashes out on advertising network Burst

Online video search engine Blinkx today splashed out $30 million (£18.5million) buying the online advertising network Burst Media.

Burst sells advertising space packages across hundreds of websites having spent the last 10 years building up relationships with online publishers. Audience numbers of those sites now add up to a combined 130 million.

Blinkx hopes the deal will mean many of those publishers will now start running broadcast advertising through its own video player. Although Burst, which is listed on the london stock exchange, operates in the UK its main operations are in the US.

Blinkx will issue 15m new shares to provide cash for the deal and will give Burst shareholders the option to take cash or a holding in the new combined group.

Blinkx also announced a strong trading update today with revenue for the second half of its financial year up 91% on the same period last year.

Burst Media's shares soared 370 per cent to 23p today after the announcement, Blinkx shareholders also seemed to like the deal with the stock up 4 per cent to 115p.