Equativ & Sharethrough Merge to Form One of the Largest Global Independent Ad Platforms & Marketplaces

Equativ, the global independent ad tech company, announces its merger with Sharethrough, one of the top independent omnichannel ad exchanges. This union aims to establish one of the largest ad marketplaces globally, empowering advertisers, media owners, and technology partners to optimise programmatic value and scale. 

With more than 720 employees, 18 countries, and a combined net recurring revenue above USD$200m (£156.5m), the unified entity will provide advertisers and media owners with an independent vertically-integrated alternative to walled gardens, addressing the growing industry's need for heightened efficiency and innovation on a large scale.

Equativ, which confirmed Bridgepoint as its primary investor last year, has tripled in size over the last three years. In Q1 2024, Equativ and Sharethrough respectively achieved 16% and 20% growth year-over-year, driven by new strategic partnerships and increased revenue from curation, CTV, and green media products. Both companies collectively maintain complementary, long-standing relationships with major agency-holding companies, premium publishers, and Fortune 500 brands.

Leveraging the companies' top-tier technological assets and global commercial presence the combined entity will offer a broader spectrum of services and sustainable media practices, enabling ad buyers to optimize supply paths while executing high-performance campaigns. Synergistic and complementary solutions will maximize outcomes for advertisers and media owners, who will be able to use the scaled offerings to:

• Provide advanced video & CTV strategies with Equativ’s industry-leading server-side ad insertion (SSAI) and ad serving technology and its evolution of targetable TV advertising with the recent alliance with Deutsche Telekom. Broadcasters, rights owners, distributors, and operators can drive addressable live TV advertising and amplify yield through Equativ’s fully interoperable programmatic video ad tech stack.
• Maximise user attention & performance through Sharethrough's ad platform where creatives are seamlessly enhanced for attention and performance, which is further optimized by curating omnichannel inventory focused on directness, sustainability, and quality. Additionally, customers can reduce the carbon footprint while improving the efficiency of their digital advertising via the company’s industry-first Green Media Products (GreenPMP^TM and GreenPMP+^TM), launched in partnership with Scope3.
• Deliver efficient and transparent transactions with Equativ's curation platform, Equativ Buyer Connect (EBC), that streamlines programmatic efficiency by facilitating the creation of exclusive deals for more simplified and transparent transactions. Advertisers can achieve SPO and directly access premium inventory, while Media owners tap into additional demand, promoting fair value distribution across the ecosystem.
• Expand addressability solutions with Equativ and Sharethrough’s comprehensive suite of seamless and privacy-first solutions. Equativ’s alternative IDs, first-party data activation, and proprietary contextual and semantic targeting solutions, combined with Sharethrough's audience-based targeting solutions, can help advertisers reach audiences on a large scale, irrespective of the cookie's future.

"The merger with Sharethrough marks a significant milestone in Equativ's history," states Arnaud Créput, CEO of 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. Our scaled, comprehensive, privacy-first, transparent, and vertically integrated Programmatic Direct Platform will enable us to meet the needs of advertisers, media owners, and consumers for greater control and simplicity in programmatic advertising." 

JF Cote, president & CEO of Sharethrough, adds: "Our company cultures are exceptionally compatible. Given our longstanding acquaintance, merging the two companies feels like a natural progression; one that allows us to create commercial and operational efficiencies and reach new levels of unique scalability. The union positions us as an industry leader to our top-tier demand and supply-side partners as we work to provide the tools to enable enriched and equitable value exchanges for them across the ecosystem."

Jean-Baptiste Salvin, partner at Bridgepoint Development Capital adds: "We are excited to support Equativ and Sharethrough in this pivotal merger. This union represents a significant step forward, combining their unique strengths and innovative capabilities to drive unparalleled growth and value. We are confident that together, they will redefine the programmatic advertising landscape and create exceptional opportunities for their stakeholders."