Robert Smith, BILLIONAIRE American investor, inventor, engineer, philanthropist, entrepreneur, Acquires Majority Stake of Ad-Tech Giant TripleLift

Robert Smith, BILLIONAIRE American investor, inventor, engineer, philanthropist, entrepreneur, Acquires Majority Stake of Ad-Tech Giant TripleLift

TripleLift Acquired by Vista Equity Partners

@TripleLiftHQ
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The following email was sent to all TripleLift employees immediately following an all-hands meeting where Co-Founder and CEO Eric Berry announced the acquisition of the company by Vista Equity Partners. 

TripleLift announced today that a majority stake of the company will be acquired by Vista Equity Partners, a leading private equity firm focused on software, data and technology-enabled businesses. Vista’s involvement will accelerate global growth and further drive product innovation for TripleLift.

This is one of the largest transactions in the history of ad tech and a wonderful outcome for our company, our shareholders and our employees. This alignment will also create positive effects for our customers and partners as it provides us with the ability to service them in an increasing number of ways.

Let me provide some details about this agreement, explain why we entered into it, articulate what it means to our future and share what comes next.

What are the details of this investment?

TripleLift has been acquired by Vista Equity Partners. This should be a moment of pride for every TripleLifter past and present. We started the business in 2012 with a central idea to bring Native ads to the open web. Through your hard work, we have delivered on that original thesis, expanded to become a large and well regarded programmatic exchange, and have begun commercializing a truly differentiated CTV business. These three chapters of our company’s history – and our ability to demonstrate proficiency in each one of them – is what created the value leading to this transaction. TripleLift and Vista will be working together to evaluate key drivers for successful growth moving forward.

Why did we make this decision?

TripleLift has grown over 70% annually since 2015, and we are committed to building on our leadership position going forward. This acquisition ensures that we are well capitalized to follow through on our strategic plan:

  • Maintaining our leadership position in Native
  • Expanding our position in programmatic video where we are a Top 3 provider
  • Catalyzing our opportunity in CTV
  • Further expanding into priority international markets across Europe & Asia

Vista is a value-added investor with an extensive track record of helping companies achieve excellence by contributing professional expertise and proven best practices. They will be a powerful resource as we move into this next chapter.

What does the acquisition mean?

At the highest level, let me start with the old adage: “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” Vista made this investment in TripleLift for the growth opportunity ahead of us. They bought us for our strategy, our priorities, our brand and our values. None of that changes. As we always have, we will revisit our plans as market circumstances dictate, but we will now have those discussions with Vista instead of our current board of directors.

Mike Fosnaugh, the Co-Head of the Flagship Fund at Vista remarked to me the other day: “Your team has built something extraordinary. Our goal is to help you reach the goals we’ve been discussing. We will help you grow into your ambitions, not change what you’ve built.”

What happens next?

We anticipate that the deal will officially close in Q2 2021, once government regulators have had a chance to review the acquisition. Until and beyond that point, it is business as usual. We’ve got an industry to keep changing.

Thanks to everyone on this team for living our values and driving us to this day.

_______________________________________________________________________________

 

AdTech Leader TripleLift Announces Majority Investment from Vista Equity Partners

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Partnership to Accelerate Global Product Expansion and Innovation in CTV

TripleLift, one of the largest advertising technology platforms in the world, announced today it has signed a definitive agreement to receive a majority investment from Vista Equity Partners. Vista, a leading global investment firm focused on enterprise software, data and technology-enabled businesses, will help drive further innovation across TripleLift and accelerate global growth.

“We have developed into a leader in the advertising technology space and are excited about our next chapter,” said Eric Berry, Co-Founder and CEO of TripleLift. “When looking for an investment partner, we placed a premium on a deep understanding of ad tech and a willingness to lean into developing our portfolio of innovative, high-growth products. Vista is that partner.”

Founded in 2012, TripleLift is driving the next generation of programmatic advertising by inventing new ad formats and building two-sided marketplaces that deliver monetization to publishers around the world. The company rose to prominence as the leader in Native programmatic advertising, expanded its offerings to display and video, and is now commercializing breakthrough products in Connected TV. TripleLift works with over 80% of the comScore 100 publishers, 100% of the Top 20 Demand Side Platforms (DSPs) and 100% of the AdAge Top 100 advertisers. Last year, TripleLift handled over 40 trillion ad transactions across desktop, mobile and connected television.

“TripleLift is a next generation ad tech company that has successfully identified and developed multiple new markets since its inception,” said Michael Fosnaugh, Co-Head of the Vista Flagship Fund and Senior Managing Director. “In each case, they have created unique value to an entire ecosystem of companies, including brands, publishers, and partners, and we are thrilled to be working with Eric and the team to further scale their business.”

“Vista is pleased to partner with TripleLift and we have a tremendous runway for growth,” said Rod Aliabadi, Managing Director at Vista Equity Partners. “We look forward to continued market leadership in programmatic, further catalyzing our opportunity in CTV and building upon our expansion into priority international markets across Europe and Asia.”

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021. Eric Berry will remain as CEO and will continue serving on the Board of Directors. True Ventures and Edison Partners, two early investors in TripleLift, will remain invested in the company. 

Centerview Partners LLC is serving as exclusive financial advisor to TripleLift, and Goodwin Procter LLP and Reitler Kailas and Rosenblatt LLC are serving as legal counsel. JP Morgan is serving as financial advisor to Vista, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal counsel.

About TripleLift
TripleLift, one of the fastest-growing ad tech companies in the world, is a technology company rooted at the intersection of creative and media. Its mission is to make advertising better for everyone— content owners, advertisers and consumers—by reinventing ad placement one medium at a time. With direct inventory sources, diverse product lines, and creative designed for scale using Computer Vision technology, TripleLift is driving the next generation of programmatic advertising from desktop to television. As of January 2021, TripleLift has recorded five years of consecutive growth of greater than 70 percent. TripleLift is a Business Insider Hottest AdTech Company, Inc. Magazine 5000, Crain’s New York Fast 50, and Deloitte Technology Fast 500. Find more information about how TripleLift is shaping the future of advertising at triplelift.com.

About Vista Equity Partners
Vista is a leading global investment firm with more than $73 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2020. The firm exclusively invests in enterprise software, data and technology-enabled organizations across private equity, credit, public equity and permanent capital strategies, bringing an approach that prioritizes creating enduring market value for the benefit of its global ecosystem of investors, companies, customers and employees. Vista’s investments are anchored by a sizable long-term capital base, experience in structuring technology-oriented transactions and proven, flexible management techniques that drive sustainable growth. Vista believes the transformative power of technology is the key to an even better future – a healthier planet, a smarter economy, a diverse and inclusive community and a broader path to prosperity. Further information is available at vistaequitypartners.com.

Vista on LinkedIn @Vista Equity Partners, and on Twitter @Vista_Equity.

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Black Billionaire Robert Smith, “CURRENT NET WORTH, US $7.05 billion (March 2021)”,  Acquires ,Majority Stake of Ad-Tech Giant TripleLift

@RFS_Vista
Last year, TripleLift handled over 40 trillion ad transactions with placements across desktop, mobile, and connected television.
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Billionaire Robert Smith is expanding his investment portfolio to include a massive majority stake ownership of the online advertising platform TripleLift.

A Wednesday press release announced the ad-tech leader’s $1.4 billion investment from Smith’s global investment firm, Vista Equity Partners.

“We have developed into a leader in the advertising technology space and are excited about our next chapter,” Eric Berry, co-founder and CEO of TripleLift said in the statement. “When looking for an investment partner, we placed a premium on a deep understanding of ad tech and a willingness to lean into developing our portfolio of innovative, high-growth products. Vista is that partner.”

Smith became a trending topic in 2019 when he pledged to cover $34 million in student loan debt for the entire graduating class of Morehouse College. With a $6 billion net worth, as noted by Forbes, Smith’s Vista Equity Partners has over $50 billion in assets and is regarded as one of the best-performing private equity firms.

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Robert F. Smith.

“Vista is pleased to partner with TripleLift and we have a tremendous runway for growth,” said Rod Aliabadi, Managing Director at Vista Equity Partners. “We look forward to continued market leadership in programmatic, further catalyzing our opportunity in CTV and building upon our expansion into priority international markets across Europe and Asia.”

Just last year, TripleLift handled over 40 trillion ad transactions with placements across desktop, mobile, and connected television, the statement says. The ad-tech company was founded in 2012 by Ari Lewine.

“TripleLift is a next generation ad tech company that has successfully identified and developed multiple new markets since its inception,” said Michael Fosnaugh, Co-Head of the Vista Flagship Fund and Senior Managing Director. “In each case, they have created unique value to an entire ecosystem of companies, including brands, publishers, and partners, and we are thrilled to be working with Eric and the team to further scale their business.”

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The Big Story: Why TripleLift Went With Vista, And How It Will Crack CTV

The Big Story podcast
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This week, Vista Equity Partners said it would acquire a majority stake in TripleLift, reportedly investing $1.4 billion. The deal is expected to close in Q2.

$1.4 billion is a big chunk of change – and a big story. In this episode, the AdExchanger team welcomes Ari Lewine, TripleLift cofounder and chief strategy officer, to talk about why TripleLift went with Vista as opposed to other, more disruptive exits.

Now that the native ad exchange is under Vista’s umbrella – the same firm that took in Mediaocean, Integral Ad Science, and Marketo (which it famously flipped) – what’s next for TripleLift? Why would a company that’s already run pretty efficiently – focused on profitability and having raised only $16 million – decide to exit via private equity?

Post-acquisition TripleLift will be able to buy companies itself, and improve its footprint both globally and in CTV. The big screen is an area where Lewine is convinced TripleLift can dominate. With so many ad tech companies already establishing themselves in TV, either through acquisition or wheeling and dealing (The Trade Desk, Magnite, Dataxu, Beeswax), how does TripleLift expect to fit in?

Lewine discusses the strategy and TripleLift’s unique native play in CTV.

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Programmatic platform TripleLift sells majority stake for reported $1.4B

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