AIM-listed Blinkx has acquired a fellow American and AIM company with the acquisition of Burst Media Corporation, the online advertising services and technology business, for a total of $30 million (£18.5 million).

Blinkx, which has offices in London, provides a video search engine that has indexed 35 million hours of audio, video, viral and TV content. Following the deal Blinkx will embed relevant videos and video channels into Burst’s network of publishers to drive audience size.

Suranga Chandratillake, chief executive of Blinkx, says that the deal comes on the back of online video advertising becoming the fastest growing segment of online advertising.

‘Up until now, the primary barrier to further television advertising budgets moving online has been online video’s inability to match the sheer scale of audience that television can deliver,’ Chandratillake adds.

Under the terms of the deal, the consideration is to be satisfied by the issue of new Blinkx shares and, for non-accredited investors, in cash.

Jarvis Coffin, chief executive of Burst, comments: ‘By combining with Blinkx and its enormous video index, we will be able to substantially enhance our users’ experience with high quality, relevant video, and also improve monetisation for our publishers through high value video advertising.’