Historically, LiveRamp has focused more on helping advertisers on the open web, while Habu targeted black-box systems like Google and Meta. LiveRamp expects the acquisition to generate a tidy $18 million in revenue in its 2025 fiscal year.
Privacy-preserving tech is a smart bet, and major brands and agencies have been investing in clean rooms for the last few years. But we might see a winnowing: the FTC in November warned firms that it’s got its sights on data clean rooms for not being as squeaky clean as the name implies.
February: Walmart buys Vizio for $2.3 billion
One of the year’s highest-valued deals, Walmart is hoping that having Vizio under its wing will help it seriously compete with Amazon.
Vizio’s TV tech, particularly its automatic content recognition data, collects data on viewing habits, ad preferences, and purchase behavior. This opens up a bunch of opportunities for the retailer in targeted ads, shoppable formats, and a more holistic package for advertisers. This will all tie in Walmart’s first-party data and in-store activity, not to mention its retail media arm, Walmart Connect, further blending the lines between CTV and retail media.
June: Equativ buys Sharethrough for an undisclosed amount
Equativ, a supply-side platform headquartered in Paris and New York, acquired Sharethrough, an ad exchange with a strong North American presence and a specialty in native advertising. At the time of the announcement, Sharethrough was valued at between $100 million and $125 million, and the combined net recurring revenue of the two companies will be above $200 million.
The combined firm aims to give the industry a more differentiated type of SSP, as well as compete with walled gardens.
It’s been a busy year for Equativ, who also bought retail tech platform Kamino in September to boost its retail media chops. The terms were not disclosed.
August: Outbrain buys Teads for $1 billion
The first unicorn deal in the sector for several years was exciting news, even if Teads had been on the market for some time, first hiring Morgan Stanley to advise on the sale in September 2023.
The merger changed the makeup and scale of content recommendation firm Outbrain, creating a large ad platform that combines its technology with Teads’ video and branding solutions.
Several parties looked at and passed up on buying Teads, and some calculated $1 billion as an opportunistic price for Outbrain.
