PALO ALTO, Calif.—AppLovin Corporation has announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Wurl, a software platform in the Connected TV (CTV) market, for about $430 million.
Wurl interconnects over 1200 streaming channels from the world’s top content companies with the leading streaming distribution services in over 50 countries. Reaching over 300 million connected TVs around the globe, the Wurl Network platform helps leading studios such as A+E Networks, AMC Networks, Bloomberg, BBC Studios, CNN, Reuters and Sony, deliver programming to the biggest streaming platforms, including Amazon IMDb TV, Roku, Samsung TV Plus, Rakuten, Twitch, and VIZIO, while maximising monetization.
The acquisition will extend AppLovin’s software platform capabilities into the large and growing CTV market, which is expected to produce more than $30 billion in advertising by 2025, the companies said.
“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. “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.”
“Our shared vision and values made the opportunity to join forces compelling and unique,” said Sean Doherty Sr., CEO and co-founder of Wurl. “AppLovin brings enormous new demand from advertisers and our partnership will enable current customers to realise 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 is expected to retain its brand and operate 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.
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati served as legal advisors for AppLovin, and Fenwick & West LLP acted as legal advisor for Wurl. LionTree Advisors acted as exclusive financial advisor to Wurl.
