Klout finally gets its exit — and here’s what Lithium will do with it

It’s official, folks: Social media marketing company Lithium has acquired “influence-measurer” Klout.

During a press conference this morning, both company’s leaders came together to officially announced the acquisition. No price was named, but the deal was rumored to be for $200 million, as we reported yesterday. Both companies confirmed it was a stock deal.

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Klout chief executive Joe Fernandez will be joining Lithium’s team as SVP and general manager of Klout, and Klout’s technology will help power Lithium.

The two companies will join forces to incorporate Klout’s reputation and expertise measurement of social media users into Lithium’s product to help it fine-tune its ability to help brands engage with their customers and relevant communities. In other words, finding social media “whales” with a niche focus can help brands find their best advocates online.

“Together, we could be something incredibly disruptive to CRM,” said Robert Tarkoff, Lithium’s chief executive and president.

The deal resulted from original talks between the companies about integrating Klout into Lithium, more like a partnership, but the conversation rapidly and quickly moved into acquisition talks and “the decision was really easy,” Fernandez shared.

Although there will be heavy integration of both products and teams, Fernandez assured that Klout’s product will remain as as standalone offering as well, and people will still be able to use it to check their ratings and redeem perks.

This deal is kicking off a suite of other product announcements that Lithium will be announcing at its conference, LiNC, in May 2014.