German online marketing group Tomorrow Focus says it is taking a 17 percent stake in London-based web ads marketplace AdJug for an investment of an undisclosed size. Tomorrow Focus said it was in the “single-digit” euro millions and would be paid in cash; it’s also giving over ad inventory to AdJug. AdJug got “several million dollars” in July from Balderton Capital and Espotting founder Seb Bishop.
Though AdJug would seem to have a tough task rising up against larger ad networks, it sets itself apart by giving advertisers control over specific in-page ad placement and counts some big-name publishers amongst its clients. The site was started last August by German eBay (NSDQ: EBAY) marketing veteran and Gumtree founder Michael Stephanblome and former Espotting European head Jaya Satish.