Digital advertising platforms Taboola and Outbrain are merging to create a bigger competitor to Facebook and Google
Almost 70% of total US digital advertising revenue in 2019 is controlled by Google, Facebook and Amazon, according to eMarketer.
“By joining forces, we’ll be able to create a more robust competitor to Facebook and Google, giving advertisers a more meaningful choice,” says Adam Singolda, founder and CEO of Taboola.
“We’re passionate about driving growth for our customers and supporting the open web, which we consider critical in a world where walled gardens are strong, and perhaps too strong.
"Working together, we will continue investing to better connect advertising dollars with local and national news organizations, strengthening journalism over the next decade. This is why we’re merging; this is our mission.”
Yaron Galai, co-founder and co-CEO of Outbrain, says the companies have a shared mission and vision of supporting quality journalism globally and delivering meaningful value to the open web marketplace.
“Ori and I had a vision of helping people discover quality content online, and we see a tremendous opportunity in joining forces in order to bring the next wave of innovation to our publisher partners and advertisers," says Galai.
"I’m confident that together, we will be able to further our mission, which we call our Lighthouse, of bringing the best, most trustworthy content discovery capabilities to users around the world.”
Adam Singolda, the founder and current CEO of Taboola, will assume the chief executive position of the combined company which will operate under the Taboola brand name.
Under the terms of the merger agreement, Outbrain shareholders will receive shares representing 30% of the combined company plus $US250 million cash.
The combined company will have more than 2,000 employees across 23 offices, serving 20,000 clients in more than 50 countries across the North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions.
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