The Priceline Group is in a buying mood.
The Stamford, Conn., based online ticketing and reservation empire bought small Israeli startup Qlika for about $3 million in cash, a Priceline source confirmed to VentureBeat Monday.
Qlika is a six-employee “micro-location” ad campaign startup. Its platform helps marketing strategists target ad campaigns in smaller markets.
“It’s a small deal, the $3 million number is roughly accurate,” the source said.
Qlika raised nearly $2 million in venture capital since its founding in 2012. Qlika did not respond to emails for comment.
Qlika’s six employees will now be absorbed into the Priceline Group family of growing online properties. The deal shows how executives are increasingly looking to monetize the mobile advertising space by figuring ways of holding the interest of mobile users looking into the screens of smart phones, tablets, and wearables.
Specifically, Qlika’s team will be used to support Priceline’s Agoda website, a discount booking travel property focused on the growing Asian market. Priceline purchased the Singapore-based site in 2007.
Qlika’s “QTree big data analysis engine” uses “rocket science” to tabulate effective “micro-market” advertising strategies, according to the company’s website.
In addition to Qlika, Priceline Group owns Booking.com, Rental Cars, and Kayak.
