Outbrain follows Taboola to list on NYSE
Content marketing platform Outbrain is gearing up for an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), rumoured to be worth US$2 billion.
The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined, according to a statement by the New York- head quartered company, which was founded in Israel in 2006.
Outbrain is following the steps of rival platform Taboola, which it was in discussions with last year to merge with, but things came to a halt just weeks before the expected deal date.
The IPO is expected to provide Outbrain’s stakeholders with some of the liquidity that they would have received as part of the merger, had it gone ahead.
Taboola entered into a merger agreement with special purpose acquisition company ION Acquisition Corp in January, that will see the content discovery and native ad platform begin trading publicly on the NYSE.
Outbrain haas submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to the proposed initial public offering of its common stock. The initial public offering is expected to take place after the SEC completes its review process, subject to market and other conditions.
Under the original merger discussions, Taboola was to acquire Outbrain for US$250 million in cash and 30% equity of the combined company, which was set to be led by Taboola CEO Singolda and have more than 2,000 employees. The merger was called off in September 2020 amid regulatory hurdles and disagreements. At the time, the companies said the combination of the platforms would make it more efficient for advertisers looking to buy sponsored links across the web and that the new company would increase revenue for publishers thanks to increased investment in technology and product.
The company estimates the open web to be approximately $64 billion in 2020, which presents considerable opportunity.
Andrew Burke
Outbrain managing director APAC & growth markets, Andrew Burke, told Mumbrella earlier this year that the business had a “fantastic year” and that “the combination of COVID and Donald Trump really fed into consumer interest in news, which naturally works well for us”.
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Olivia Kruimel is the managing editor at Mumbrella. She has more than 15 years of experience in journalism, communications and marketing. Her journalism career began at Fairfax Media (now part of Nine) and includes various B2B publications such as B&T, Travel Today and ALB. As a marketer Olivia has worked for Standard Chartered and various global law firms.
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