Taboola-Outbrain Merger Talks Come to an End

Taboola’s bid to acquire Outbrain has been called off after the two advertising giants could not agree to new terms. In the original agreement made last October, Outbrain shareholders “were to receive $250 million in cash and 30 percent of the combined company.”

The Justice Department determined not to challenge the deal earlier this year, but antitrust authorities in the U.K. and elsewhere were still investigating the anticompetitive risks associated with the merger. 

Digiday and others report publishers are — by and large — relieved at the news, with sources fearing that the merger would cause pricing pressure and reduce the quality of the ads.

The pandemic greatly affected both companies’ finances (Taboola faring better than Outbrain), resulting in Taboola seeking new terms for the arrangement, but a new agreement was ultimately never reached.