Taboola completes acquisition of Connexity

Taboola (Nasdaq: TBLA), a global leader in powering recommendations for the open web, helping people discover things they may like, today announced it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Connexity.

The transaction brings Connexity, one of the largest e-commerce media platforms on the open web, and its large scale of 6,000 publishers and 1,600 direct merchant relationships to Taboola, unlocking new ways for publishers, advertisers, and merchants to effectively scale outside of walled gardens.

“The future of open web monetisation is e-commerce. Taboola, combined with Connexity, is uniquely positioned to capitalise on this market opportunity,” said Adam Singolda, CEO and founder, Taboola. “At a time when, according to eMarketer, over 60% of US publishers are turning to e-commerce as a top revenue source, I believe every publisher is going to develop an e-commerce strategy. With Taboola and Connexity, publishers will get instant access to an innovative technology connecting readers with products, which capitalises on where consumers spend a large part of their day-reading trusted news online. We’ve spent 14 years building relationships with the top publishers in the world, and now, merchants can benefit from that massive scale, reaching buyers across the open web. With Taboola, e-commerce brands are no longer trapped within the walls of Amazon”.

Moving forward, Taboola will give advertisers and merchants new ways to benefit, by offering Connexity e-commerce solutions across Taboola’s vast network of more than 9,000 digital properties that reach 500 million daily active users. By tapping into Taboola’s network of trusted editorial content, e-commerce brands will be able to drive customer acquisition on a massive scale, by placing their products on more stories that consumers are reading. With Connexity offerings integrated into Taboola’s network of digital properties, these publishers will have instant access to a new way to drive meaningful revenue growth as well.

Connexity has solutions for merchants and publishers, including:
 

1) Merchant solution

• Publisher network: Connexity enables merchants such as Walmart, Overstock, Chewy, and Michael Kors to reach relevant shoppers on the open web via its expansive publisher network, as well as bespoke search platform integrations. The company connects consumer buyers with more than 750 million product offerings on its shopping intent network, driving more than 1 million monthly transactions for its advertisers.

• Social influencers: Merchants can also reach relevant shoppers through social influencers- those with at least 10,000 followers and many with millions. Brands including Wayfair, Lands’ End, and Forever 21 are leveraging this offering to drive significant buyer engagement when social influencers promote their products through their social media posts.

2) Publisher solution

• Shopping section: Connexity enables publishers to launch their own shopping section on their websites, giving users a contextual and relevant shopping experience. Leading properties including Better Home & Gardens by Meredith, CNET, and Best Reviews, who are using this offering to build their own customised e-commerce offerings and connect buyers with products they may love.

• Commerce content platform: Enabling publishers to automatically integrate product offerings into their editorial content, allowing readers to instantly purchase relevant products based on the articles they are reading. Publishers including Condé Nast, Hearst, Dotdash, Hello! Magazine, and News Corp Australia are scaling e-commerce into a key revenue stream for their business.

Under the terms of the agreement, Taboola acquired Connexity for total consideration including purchase price and retention incentives of USD$800m (£578m) consisting of approximately USD$590m (£427m) in cash and USD$210m (£152m) in Taboola stock.