DoubleVerify acquires OpenSlate for $150 million

DoubleVerify, which went public in April, announced that it has agreed to acquire pre-campaign contextual targeting platform OpenSlate for $150 million. With the acquisition, DoubleVerify seeks to expand its leadership in social video and CTV.

Like DoubleVerify, OpenSlate helps marketers verify that their ads appear on content that advertisers consider safe. The company’s solutions provide insight into the nature and quality of ad-supported content on major, video-focused social platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube.

While DoubleVerify has tools to measure the safety of ad campaigns on social media, the OpenSlate acquisition will add the ability to ensure that digital ads are not sent to unsafe content on those platforms in the first place.

DoubleVerify says the deal consists of $25 million in stock and $125 million in cash. In late August, DoubleVerify had announced the acquisition of Berlin-based ad verification company Meetrics.

“DV’s mission is to make digital advertising stronger, safer and more secure, giving global brands clarity and confidence in their digital investments,” said Mark Zagorski, DoubleVerify CEO. “Our strategy in support of this mission is to verify everywhere – across channels, formats, platforms and geographies. The combination with OpenSlate fully supports this approach. OpenSlate’s pre-campaign solutions perfectly complement DV’s post-campaign measurement capabilities across CTV and social environments. Integrating the two provides advertisers with unparalleled end-to-end brand safety, suitability and contextual optimization. No other company will be able to deliver a fully-owned, integrated solution across the leading social and CTV walled gardens.”

Founded in 2012 by Mike Henry, OpenSlate operates across 37 countries and has a customer portfolio of more than 200 large global brands including Facebook, Pfizer, Unilever, and Coca-Cola. 

“The OpenSlate team is thrilled to join forces with DoubleVerify – an industry-leading, rapidly expanding, global organization with best-in-class media quality and performance capabilities,” said Mike Henry, OpenSlate CEO. “Integrating with DV will be a natural evolution for our technology and will accelerate our ability to provide advertisers with comprehensive brand safety, suitability, and contextual solutions across social video and CTV.”

The acquisition is expected to close this quarter.