Native advertising duo Outbrain and Taboola have announced their intention to merge in a deal billed by the companies’ leadership as a bid to rival the likes of Amazon, Facebook and Google for ad spend.
Taboola founder and CEO Adam Singolda will head up the proposed entity, which will operate under the Taboola name pending a subsequent rebrand that will reflect both companies.
Outbrain co-founder and co-CEO Yaron Galai will actively assist with the transition during the 12 months following the closure of the deal, which has been approved by both companies’ boards but still subject to regulatory review.
The combined company will have over 2,000 employees across 23 offices, serving over 20,000 clients in more than 50 countries across the North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions.
The leaders of both companies are billing the proposed union as a benefit to advertisers and publishers alike by improving reach for media buyers.
Additionally, the merger means a consolidated platform that enables publishers to double down on technology investments, which will in turn lead to a better consumer experience, according to the pair.
“By joining forces, we’ll be able to create a more robust competitor to Facebook and Google, giving advertisers a more meaningful choice,” Singolda said in a statement.
He added, “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.”
Outbrain’s Galai added, “Both Outbrain and Taboola have a shared mission and vision of supporting quality journalism globally and delivering meaningful value to the open web marketplace.”
Eldad Maniv, president and COO of Taboola, and David Kostman, co-CEO of Outbrain, will work together on managing all aspects of the post-merger integration with “aggressive goals,” according to Maniv.
Kostman added, “I look forward to working together with Eldad and his team to bring together the best of each company’s technology, product and business expertise to build a compelling global open web alternative to Google and Facebook.”
