AppLovin, a Palo Alto, California-based marketing platform, has agreed to acquire connected TV software provider Wurl for approximately $430 million.
The transaction will provide AppLovin with a means of tapping into the growing connected TV market, which it expects draw in more than $30 billion in spending from U.S. advertisers 2025, according to eMarketer.
Wurl expects to continue operating independently with its existing management team. The acquisition is expected to close in the first half of 2022 and be funded with approximately 55% cash and 45% AppLovin equity.
“The acquisition of Wurl will further our commitment to building and growing the world’s largest, most-effective digital marketing platform by providing advertisers a seamless way to tap into the highly addressable and measurable CTV market,” said Adam Foroughi, CEO and co-founder of AppLovin, in a statement. “We believe our software marketing expertise can further optimize the experience for advertisers and consumers as well as enable content companies to expand their audiences and increase monetization.”
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“Our shared vision and values made the opportunity to join forces compelling and unique,” said Wurl CEO Sean Doherty Sr. in a statement. “AppLovin brings enormous new demand from advertisers and our partnership will enable current customers to realize even more benefits including expanded ad revenue, new viewers, and enhanced distribution to global CTV audiences. Together, we’ll pursue our mission and dramatically impact the CTV market.”
Wurl said its Global FAST Pass platform is used by content companies including A+E Networks, AMC Networks, Scripps and Bloomberg to distribute streaming video content to more than 300 million TVs and reach more than 30 million users globally each month. Wurl’s distribution platform provides access to connected TV ad inventory and data that is used to enhance ad performance products like Wurl AdPool and Wurl Perform.