Travora sold its travel ad network for $4.4 million

Was it a fire sale? You be the judge.

The details are in about JMG Exploration's acquisition last month of Travora Media, formerly known as Travel Ad Network: The sale price in the asset purchase agreement was just under $4.4 million.

And the owners of 10-year-old Travora Media, which had raised some $33 million in funding from the likes of Rho Capital Partners and Village Ventures, could potentially receive  an additional consideration of $3 million.

The additional consideration would entail $1 million for retention of publishers (supposedly 300 clients including Viator, Fodor's and Vayama) and $2 million for hitting revenue targets.

To achieve these goals, Travora would have to keep roughly 85% of its publishers, and hit revenue target of around $12.8 million in 2013, according to the asset purchase agreement.

Regardless how you look at it, the investors took a big hit on this one as they and Travora management went about acquiring content sites such as NileGuide and TravelMuse, among others, and sought to turn Travora into a hybrid B2B advertising platform and consumer brand with a mobile app, and a revamped website focusing on travel news and tips.

Travora recorded some $13 million in revenue in 2011, the latest numbers disclosed. Travora continues to operate from New York City, and the purchaser indicated it planned to retain about 20 of its employees.

JMG Exploration, the purchaser of Travora, this month executed a reverse stock split and changed its name to MediaShift.

Travora is part of MediaShift subsidiary AdVantage Networks, which states its goal is to "enable operators of private Internet networks to monetize their audiences through one of the fastest growing distributed ad technology platforms in the world."

Pairing AdVantage Networks' ad technology with Travora's publisher base, MediaShift states it will roll out its technology at airports and hotels in North America and "other key global destinations" this year.

Travora management has been replaced, and the new Travora Networks president is Brendon Kensel.

Here is the description of the sale:

[gview file="http://skift.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/File-2.pdf"]