In a major merger in the adtech and advanced TV industry space, Magnite has acquired SpotX from RTL, the European broadcast giant, for $1.17 billion in cash and stock, the companies announced this morning.
Later in the morning, Beet.TV did this video interview with Magnite CEO Michael Barrett about the deal and what it means for the industry.
The adtech veteran reflects on the industry’s ups and downs, including unsuccessful IPOs that turned off investors. Also hampering investment had been a widespread perception that Google and Facebook would dominate and there would be no room for big, independent players in adtech. The Trade Desk has proved them wrong, he notes.
The combination of the two companies, which are primarily known as Supply Side Platforms (SSPs) will become an industry powerhouse in a technology which provides video and television programmers and publishers with software to make inventory available to advertisers in an automated, programmatic manner.
RTL acquired SpotX in 2017, after owning a controlling interest since 2014.
The public markets have embraced today’s acquisition news enthusiastically, with share price soaring some 25% to $55, increasing the valuation of the company by $1 billion in today’s trading (as of noon EST.)
