Montréal-headquartered Sharethrough and Paris, France-based Equativ have announced a merger that will see the two adtech companies become one.
Sharethrough itself was created through a merger in early 2021.
The firms said the merger aims to establish one of the largest global advertising marketplaces, and that the combination will provide advertisers and media owners with a vertically integrated alternative to “walled gardens.” The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but a Sharethrough spokesperson told BetaKit the combined net revenue of the two companies will be more than 200 million. According to The Globe and Mail, the deal values Sharethrough between $100 million USD and $125 million.
Sharethrough also told BetaKit that the combined company will be headquartered in Paris and New York City, adding that it will “prioritize creating new opportunities” within the larger organization for its existing employees. For now, both companies are continuing to operate under their existing names as they work through the integration process, and will announce a combined entity name “once all necessary steps have been completed.”
Prior to this merger, Sharethrough had raised $39 million in funding. Sharethrough itself was created through the merger of Montréal-based adtech startup District M and San Francisco’s Sharethrough in early 2021.
Founded in 2013, District M offered a programmatic advertising ecosystem, meaning it automates ad placement based on user data. Before combining with Sharethrough, the startup raised a $12 million Series A round backed by Investissement Québec and Fonds de solidarité FTQ in 2019.
In October 2021, as the merged entity operated under the Sharethrough name, the firm announced it was looking to go public on the Toronto Stock Exchange and secure $75 million CAD. But Sharethrough ultimately postponed those plans after tech stocks fell and Canadian peers D2L and Q4 Inc. experienced disappointing public market debuts. Sharethrough said this is when it first got connected with Equativ and began merger talks.
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Sharethrough and Equativ say the combined entity will offer a wider range of services, including Equativ’s server-side ad insertion and connected television offerings, which facilitates the advertisements in smart TV devices, and Sharethrough’s ability to detect and prevent advertisements loading outside of view in a web browser. The firms also say the combination of Equativ’s proprietary contextual and semantic targeting solutions and Sharethrough’s audience-based targeting solutions will help advertisers reach audiences on a large scale.
Equativ CEO Arnaud Créput called the merger with Sharethrough a significant milestone for Equativ.
“The exceptional complementarity and minimal overlap between our two platforms, combining advanced TV technology, exclusive video demand, high-impact formats driving superior user attention, and our leading positions globally, will propel us among the top three independent SSPs worldwide,” Créput said in a statement.
Last year, English private equity firm Bridgepoint acquired a majority stake in Equativ. Business Insider reported that the deal valued Equativ at €350 million ($518 million CAD) and would help it complete acquisitions in the United States. Sharethrough said this deal allowed the two companies’ merger talks to come to fruition.
Equativ and Sharethrough claim they have collective relationships with major brands and publishers including Marriott, Disney, Walmart, Comcast, Conde Nast, and Meredith.
UPDATE (06/17/2024): This story has been updated with information shared by a Sharethrough spokesperson.
Feature image courtesy Sharethrough via LinkedIn.
