British digital marketer acquires Israeli user-acquisition platform DAU-UP for $19M

British digital marketing services firm XLMedia has acquired Israel’s DAU-UP, which helps game companies acquire mobile users more profitably, for $19 million in cash and stock.

Publicly traded XLMedia, based in London, said the acquisition of DAU-UP (formally known as ExciteAd Digital Marketing) will help it diversify its holdings and immediately boost its profits. DAU-Up recently announced it was entering the competitive market for acquiring new users with a platform that is aimed squarely at mobile-game companies. User acquisition is one of the toughest tasks for mobile games in an age where players churn through products rapidly. Companies that get it right, such as Finland’s Supercell, maker of the No. 1-ranked Clash of Clans, can reap huge benefits.

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Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.