February 23, 2021
The latest wave of consolidation is in full swing and it’s scrappier than ever.
Magnite and Spotx. Verve and Nexstar’s digital platform for video ads. Smart Adserver and Capital Croissance. Liveramp and Datafleets. District M and Sharethrough. Kubient. Pubmatic. And now Viant. Those are just some of the more notable mergers, acquisitions and IPOs that have occurred in recent months. In fact, the pace of deals has accelerated to a point that’s left some onlookers puzzled and for good reason.
Investors, whether they’re private or public, seem fine with big, initially costly consolidation of ad tech companies. This is largely because revenue growth, not profit, drive corporate value right now. Put another way: It’s as if investors forgot that ad tech is steeped in a lot of uncertainty right now.