Transparency In The $2B Deal That Died Between Ad Networks Outbrain & Taboola

WEST PALM BEACH, FL – In an act of impressive transparency to its publishers, ad network Outbrain has sent what seems to be a heartfelt message to its users explaining why a planned merger between them and Taboola, will not be going through as expected.

The merger was expected to value the bulked-up company at $2 Billion.

Yesterday, September 10, 2020, the following message was sent out to publishers.

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 $250mm 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.

In the meantime, Yaron has spoken for both us in sharing his excitement for the future — which you can read on the Outbrain blog.

We look forward to many more years of continued partnership. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us, or your Outbrain team, with any questions.

Yaron Galai
Founder & Co-CEO

David Kostman
Co-CEO

Outbrain and Taboola are two of the largest companies providing publishers news style advertisements for their websites typically seen underneath “You Might Be Interested” or “Recommended for You”
 headers, which suggest news stories which are advertisements sending visitors to content pages sponsored by advertisers on a cost per click basis.

John Colascione

About The Author: John Colascione is Chief Executive Officer of Internet Marketing Services Inc. He specializes in Website Monetization, is a Google AdWords Certified Professional, authored a ‘how to’ book called ”Mastering Your Website‘, and is a key player in several Internet related businesses through his search engine strategy brand Searchen Networks®