Innovid, an Israeli ad delivery and measurement platform for connected TV, announced last Thursday that it has entered a definitive agreement to become a publicly traded company by merging with special purpose acquisition company ION Acquisition Corp. 2 Ltd. The combined company will operate under the Innovid name and will trade on a US national exchange.
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021. It has an implied estimated value of about USD 1.3 billion.
Founded in 2008, Innovid offers a video advertising platform designed to help advertisers engage consumers with more effective video creation and improved campaign performance across all screens and channels. Its name is a portmanteau of “innovation” and “video.”
“Innovid is entering an exciting new chapter of growth as a public company, a major milestone that corresponds with rising adoption and demands for streaming television.” said Zvika Netter, co-founder and CEO at Innovid. “The rapid shift of viewership from linear TV to streaming has driven marketers to make CTV a strategic investment focus. Our technology was purpose-built for TV which has allowed us to win in the marketplace and contributed to our rapid growth to date.”
As part of the deal, Innovid will be supported by approximately USD 150 million of PIPE (private investment in public equity) financing anchored by top-tier institutional investors, including Fidelity Management and Research Company LLC, Baron Capital Group, Vintage, and other entities like funds affiliated with ION and Phoenix Insurance.
“As a public company, we expect that we will be able to build on our leading market position, accelerate the growth of our business, and remain the independent platform trusted by the world’s largest TV advertisers. We are proud to have built an independent and neutral software platform to allow advertisers to create, deliver, and measure digital TV ads, and aim to continue to provide the industry a market leading and transparent offering independent of the large technology walled-garden players who dominate many other parts of the digital world,” Netter continued.
“We believe Innovid has built an exceptional platform for digital TV advertisers to assist them as they transition USD 200 billion of TV advertising budgets to the world of digital TV. We are excited to partner in bringing Innovid to the public markets to provide the appropriate capital structure and shareholder base to enable Innovid to lead this market as an independent company. We were looking to merge with an exceptional company with roots in the Israeli high-tech ecosystem, and Innovid’s incredible achievements speak for themselves,” said Gilad Shany, CEO of ION.
The article was originally published by NoCamels, a leading news website covering breakthrough innovation from Israel for a global audience.