Tremor International Ltd (AIM: TRMR), a global leader in video advertising technologies, announces that it has reached an agreement with News Corp (“News Corp”) (Nasdaq: NWS) (Nasdaq: NWSA) (ASX: NWS) (ASX: NWSLV), a global diversified media and information services company, to acquire Unruly, News Corp’s programmatic video marketplace Martech News.
The transaction is expected to be financially beneficial for both Tremor International and News Corp. News Corp is receiving 6.91% of Tremor International stock, subject to an 18-month lock up period and to certain adjustments, along with a total minimum revenue guarantee for News Corp of GBP 30m for the partnership.
The deal marks the start of a three-year partnership with News Corp which will equip Tremor with the exclusive right to sell outstream video on more than 50 News Corp titles in the UK, US and Australia. Tremor International will also benefit from Unruly’s 2,000+ direct publisher integrations and unique demand relationships with the world’s biggest advertisers.
Rebekah Brooks, UK CEO and Norm Johnston, CEO at Unruly, are intended to join the Board of Directors of Tremor International in the near future.
“With this deal, Unruly and the relationship with News Corp bolster Tremor International’s supply side platform, giving us a global footprint and allowing us to more rapidly take our recently acquired RhythmOne offering to an international market,” said Ofer Druker, CEO of Tremor International. “Unruly’s positive brand awareness and the value it delivers to partners, including relationships with globally recognized media brands, will propel Tremor International’s business, particularly in the European and APAC markets where Tremor will run its business under the Unruly brand.”
Norm Johnston, CEO of Unruly, said: “Unruly will benefit from Tremor’s wide range of formats, including advanced TV and In-App, as well as an analytics suite and yield optimisation tools. Together we’ll bring the power of emotions to video advertising to drive better results for advertisers, higher levels of engagement for consumers and more revenue for publishers. We are also grateful for the opportunity for Unruly to continue partnering with News Corp and its businesses around the world, with whom we have worked so closely and productively for years. And News Corp benefits from the transaction both financially and by having found a partner to take Unruly forward and drive digital outstream revenues.”
Robert Thomson, Chief Executive of News Corp, said, “The sale of Unruly marks an important step in our strategy of simplification at News Corp, while we expect it to yield ongoing financial benefits. We look forward to partnering with Tremor and are grateful to Unruly and its truly talented team, who have helped our businesses in the U.K., US and Australia advance their digital advertising expertise.”
Tremor International maintains a strong hold in the advertising technology space worldwide, with the acquisition of RhythmOne earlier this year, and this latest acquisition will further position Tremor International as the industry’s most complete and comprehensive video advertising platform.
Alvarium served as financial adviser to Tremor International.
Advisors on the transaction for News Corp include Needham & Company, LLC.
About Tremor International
Tremor International Ltd is a global leader in advertising technologies. It has three core divisions: Tremor Video (brand advertising), RhythmOne (media) and Taptica (performance advertising).
Tremor Video helps advertisers deliver impactful brand stories across all screens through the power of creative video intelligence — innovative video technology combined with advanced audience data and captivating creative. Tremor Video is one of the largest and most innovative video advertising companies in North America, with offerings in CTV, in stream, in-app and private marketplaces.
RhythmOne drives real business outcomes in multiscreen advertising. Its highly ranked programmatic platform efficiently and effectively delivers performance, quality, and actionable data to demand and supply-focused clients and partners.
Tremor International Ltd is headquartered in Israel and maintains offices throughout the US and Canada, Asia-Pacific, Europe, India and Latin America, and is traded on the London Stock Exchange (AIM: TRMR).
About Unruly
Unruly wins minds and steals hearts through the power of a data-driven video marketplace. We use emotional data to deliver brand-safe awesome advertising to 1.2bn people. Founded in 2006, Unruly was the first vendor to bring emotional intelligence to video advertising. Unruly is committed to raising standards in digital marketing and is a founding member of the WFA’s Global Alliance for Responsible Media. We’re connected to the world’s biggest DSPs and work with 95% of AdAge top 100 brands.
About News Corp
News Corp (Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) is a global, diversified media and information services company focused on creating and distributing authoritative and engaging content and other products and services. The company comprises businesses across a range of media, including: news and information services, subscription video services in Australia, book publishing and digital real estate services. Headquartered in New York, News Corp operates primarily in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom, and its content and other products and services are distributed and consumed worldwide. More information is available at: http://www.newscorp.com.