-By Brian Morrissey

NEW YORK Local Web ad buying service Centro is bulking up through a deal to purchase Real Cities.
 
Centro will acquire Real Cities’ brand and contracts, allowing it to run more advertising through its automated buying software. With the deal, the company hopes to run more impressions through its system, which makes it easier for agencies to place campaigns on local Web sites.

The move comes as Yahoo! circles the market, prepping the release of AMP, a new buying system designed to help advertisers find audiences. The first users of the system are Yahoo!'s consortium of newspaper publishers.
 
"Anytime you get the opportunity to consolidate two companies working in the same industry it makes a ton of sense," said Shawn Riegsecker, CEO of New York-based Centro. "It's an opportunity for us to eliminate the conflict with ad agencies and helping them plan and buy locally."
 
Centro is positioning itself as an alternative to the current vogue for ad networks. Unlike networks, it doesn't control inventory, instead allowing agencies to place local campaigns on a variety of sites. For shops, this means placing one order that generates a single bill, rather than managing a series of insertion orders and bills for a small buy.
 
"We're trying to solve the same problem, but our approach to it is totally different," he said.
 
Riegsecker said he expects not just Yahoo! but also Google to enter the market.

Through the deal, Centro picks up Real Cities' relationships with 225 advertisers. The addition will add between 15-20 percent to Centro's annual revenue, he said.
 
Financial terms were not disclosed.