Perion acquires video monetization platform Vidazoo for up to $93.5 million

Holon-headquartered global advertising company Perion Network announced on Monday that it has acquired Tel Aviv-based video technology startup Vidazoo. Perion is expected to pay a total amount of $93.5 million, consisting of $35 million in cash upon closing with an additional maximum of $58.5 million structured as a performance earn-out, if certain EBITDA-based targets are achieved.

Vidazoo, founded in 2014 by Daniel Slivkin, Gal Dagan, and Roman Svichar, is a highly differentiated video monetization platform that allows digital publishers to generate new, incremental revenue through its set of video products.

“The video advertising market is massive but highly concentrated among the largest publishers and broadcasters,” said Doron Gerstel, Perion’s CEO. “Just as Shopify’s platform enables thousands of stores to compete with Amazon and Walmart, Vidazoo empowers hundreds of video-hungry publishers with a simple, highly scalable, plug-and-play video solution. By combining our high-impact video suite and Vidazoo’s unique online video player (OVP), we are offering an end-to-end video solution, eliminating all existing intermediate functions, and creating a direct, simpler, and transparent relationship between advertisers and publishers.”

Vidazoo’s video monetization solution includes three unique capabilities: A proprietary online video player (OVP) and integrated ad server; a sophisticated yield management platform (YMP), which automatically optimizes and prioritizes publishers’ direct campaigns and open marketplace demand based on specific KPIs; and a rich video content and ad marketplace, with connections to multiple content providers and more than 20 programmatic platforms.

Vidazoo generated revenue of $31.9 million in 2020, with an adjusted EBITDA of $4.3 million. The company's outlook for 2021 included revenue of $45 million and adjusted EBITDA of $8 million.

Perion, which is traded on the Nasdaq and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, believes the acquisition of Vidazoo will add around $15 million to its revenue in 2021, taking its projections to $430-435 million, with adjusted EBITDA climbing by a couple of million dollars to $52-53 million thanks to the acquisition.

"We are thrilled to be joining the Perion family to drive continued growth and vision of Vidazoo video monetization technology across all screens," said Vidazoo CEO Daniel Slivkin. "Through Perion’s HUB we will have direct access to high-impact video campaigns which is what premium publishers are looking for. Perion is an ideal growth partner and opportunity multiplier, across all dimensions of our current and future business.”

Vidazoo was represented by advs. Jacob Enoch, Lior Poliakov and Lihi Bachar from M. Firon & Co.