Outbrain acquires Teads for $1 billion

On Thursday, Outbrain, a leading content recommendation platform, announced its plans to acquire Teads, a renowned SSP and video monetization company owned by European telco Altice. 

Altice, which purchased Teads in 2017 for $307 million, is set to receive approximately $1 billion for the company. The acquisition deal involves Outbrain paying $725 million in cash upfront, a deferred cash payment of $25 million, and issuing 35 million shares of stock to Altice, valued at around $169 million.

David Kostman, CEO of Outbrain, highlighted the transformative nature of this transaction, stating, “This is a transformative transaction to establish a true end-to-end, full-funnel platform for the open internet. The combination of our highly-complementary offerings accelerates our vision to become the preferred partner to deliver meaningful brand outcomes across premium, quality media environments — while scaling the industry-leading offerings Teads is known for. I’m incredibly proud of what our team at Outbrain has created, and strongly believe that with Teads we will build tremendous value for our customers, employees, and partners. I believe this combination and the transaction’s financial structure position Outbrain to deliver significant shareholder value in the years to come.”

The merger aims to blend Outbrain’s AI-driven performance technology with Teads’ top-tier video and branding solutions. This synergy will create a comprehensive full-funnel solution for advertisers, leveraging the strengths of both companies to deliver superior brand outcomes across premium media environments.

Upon completion of the deal, David Kostman will serve as CEO of the newly combined entity, while Teads’ co-CEOs Bertrand Quesada and Jeremy Arditi will assume the roles of co-presidents. Quesada expressed optimism about the merger, saying, “This strategic combination presents vast new opportunities for the advertising industry at large. We’ve built a world-class team at Teads that has focused on driving the best video and branding outcomes, and in the last several years have successfully brought those strengths to CTV.”

The acquisition is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2025, pending customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and Outbrain stockholder approval.