Audience Relationship Platform OpenWeb Buys ADYOULIKE

Audience relationship platform OpenWeb has acquired Paris, France-based programmatic ad platform ADYOULIKE for $100m, in a mix of cash and stock.

ADYOULIKE, which also has operations in London and New York and boasts a team of more than 70, provides an omnichannel digital ad marketplace used by more than 4,000 publishers and 20,000 advertisers. The firm's 'Retail Stories' service uses retailers' shopper data from loyalty cards to deliver relevant audience segments, and provide knowledge about clients' brands - including purchase intent, checkouts and brand recall. Ads can then be targeted to fit with audience interests based on actual shopper profiles.

The deal, which follow's OpenWeb's 2021 $150m Series E round of funding, connects its network of more than 1,000 publishers with ADYOULIKE's technology, for brand placements. Following the acquisition, ADYOULIKE co-founder and former CEO Julien Verdier (pictured) will join OpenWeb's executive team as General Manager of Advertising.

Nadav Shoval, CEO and co-founder of OpenWeb, comments: 'Over the last seven years, OpenWeb has partnered with top-tier media to build thousands of healthy, engaged, loyal communities. Our acquisition of ADYOULIKE will allow us to leverage consent-based, first-party data and connect the most engaged communities on the web with brands, powering a more sustainable web'.

Web sites: www.openweb.com and www.adyoulike.com .