Israeli content recommendation company Outbrain Inc. (Nasdaq: OB) has announced it is buying Teads, a supply-side platform and video monetization company owned by Patrick Drahi’s Altice, the parent company of Hot Telecommunication Systems.
Outbrain will acquire Teads in a deal worth about $1 billion with $725 million up front in cash and $25 million in deferred cash as well as shares and convertible preferred equity.
Outbrain CEO David Kostman, who will continue serving as CEO of the merged company, said, "This is a transformative transaction to establish a true end-to-end, full-funnel platform for the open internet. The combination of our highly-complementary offerings accelerates our vision to become the preferred partner to deliver meaningful brand outcomes across premium, quality media environments - while scaling the industry-leading offerings Teads is known for."
He added, "I’m incredibly proud of what our team at Outbrain has created, and strongly believe that with Teads we will build tremendous value for our customers, employees, and partners. I believe this combination and the transaction’s financial structure position Outbrain to deliver significant shareholder value in the years to come."
The merged company will provide advertisers with unified access to consumer media experiences, from connected TV to online shopping. Once the merger is completed, the company will represent a break from established platform players that base their value primarily on views and impressions. In contrast, the combined company plans to focus on delivering more tangible outcomes such as attention, deep engagement, and e-commerce conversions across the multitude of previously fragmented premium environments on the open internet, including connected TV.
Outbrain is traded on Nasdaq with a market cap of $233.5 million. The deal will be a leveraged acquisition as Outbrain had $232 million in cash and investments at the end of the first quarter. The company has obtained $750 million in financing from Goldman Sachs, Jefferies and Mizuho Bank.
Altice bought Teads in 2017 for $307 million. In 2021 Teads sought an IPO at a company valuation of $3 billion but eventually dropped the plan.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on August 1, 2024.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2024.