Outbrain pulls out of Taboola merger over ‘values and corporate culture’

Naitive advertising giant Outbrain has pulled out of a merger with Taboola which would have made a combined value $2bn company.

Outbrain who pride themselves on “trust and transparency” promote articles on more than 110,000 websites globally.

The advertising giants announced their intention to merge in October 2019 and at the time Outbrain shareholders would have received shares representing 30% of the company plus $250m in cash.

The two companies who make around $1bn each in revenues each year, saw talks break down over the 11 months over a disagreement with the terms.

Outbrain’s founder and co-CEO Yaron Galai and David Kostman co-CEO, told LondonLovesBusiness, “As an important partner of Outbrain, we want to get in touch and provide context to recent news regarding the merger with Taboola.

“As you may have read, we decided that the merger will not go ahead and are working towards official termination.

“Trust and transparency are an integral part of our DNA, so we want to ensure you hear the reasons for our decision from us directly.

“Over the past few months, we recognized just how fundamentally different Outbrain and Taboola are when it comes to our values, corporate culture and business approach.

“This culminated in Taboola’s attempt to renegotiate the original terms of the agreement, which included $250m in cash and a 30% share in the combined company.

“We strongly believe successful partnerships are founded on trust and respect. It became increasingly clear that our employees, shareholders, and partners such as yourself, are much better served by having Outbrain as an independent company with our strong values and partnership DNA.

“What made this decision even more straightforward is the strong business momentum Outbrain is experiencing. 2020 has been challenging for everyone but, despite it all, we were able to innovate faster than ever before, support a record number of clients and, as a result, exceed our financial growth goals.

“But most importantly, we stayed true to our core values and honored our commitments to our partners. As Yaron wrote in March earlier this year, we will get through this together.

“With the weight of the merger no longer holding us back, both of us, and all of Outbrain, are excited and look forward to continuing working with you. We have ambitious, bold plans for 2021 and beyond.”