​Tremor International acquires News Corp’s Unruly in latest adtech purchase

News Corp has sold its programmatic video marketplace, Unruly.

Tremor International, a global business in video advertising technologies, announced it has reached an agreement with News Corp to acquire Unruly. 

Tremor, which also owns Taptica, is looking to own the advertising technology space worldwide, following the acquisition of RhythmOne last year. It is expected this acquisition will further position Tremor International as a comprehensive video advertising platform. It has three core divisions: Tremor Video (brand advertising), RhythmOne (media), and Taptica (performance advertising). 

Taptica acquired RhythmOne for US$176 million last year in an all-stock deal. RhythmOne provides cross-screen solutions focused on connected TV (CTV) and programmatic video capabilities based on an advanced media offering with an emphasis on CTV, enabled by RhythmMax. The companies said at the time the alignment in business models with Tremor Video DSP will provide immediate scale, and the addition of RhythmOne’s audience data and analytics capabilities will create a full stack solution for advertisers.

Additionally, RhythmOne’s acquisition of YuMe, which created one of the largest independent digital video advertising marketplaces, offered relationships with large scale tier one advertisers, access to premium inventory and provides extended reach into CTV. YuMe and Tremor Video DSP now work together with strong cross-selling opportunities, further diversifying existing revenue streams.

This latest transaction will see News Corp receiving 6.91 per cent of Tremor International stock, subject to an 18-month lock up period and to certain adjustments, along with a total minimum revenue guarantee for News Corp of GBP 30 million for the partnership. 

The deal marks the start of a three-year partnership with News Corp which will equip Tremor with the right to sell outstream video on more than 50 News Corp titles in the UK, US, and Australia. Tremor International will also benefit from Unruly’s 2000 plus direct publisher integrations and unique demand relationships with the world’s biggest advertisers.  

UK CEO of Unruly, Rebekah Brooks, and CEO of Unruly, Norm Johnston, will join Tremor's board as part of the deal.

“With this deal, Unruly and the relationship with News Corp bolster Tremor International’s supply side platform, giving us a global footprint and allowing us to more rapidly take our recently acquired RhythmOne offering to an international market,” CEO of Tremor International, Ofer Druker, said. 

“Unruly’s positive brand awareness and the value it delivers to partners, including relationships with globally recognised media brands, will propel Tremor International’s business, particularly in the European and APAC markets where Tremor will run its business under the Unruly brand.”

Johnston said Unruly will benefit from Tremor’s range of formats, including advanced TV and In-App, as well as an analytics suite and yield optimisation tools. 

"Together we’ll bring the power of emotions to video advertising to drive better results for advertisers, higher levels of engagement for consumers and more revenue for publishers. We are also grateful for the opportunity for Unruly to continue partnering with News Corp and its businesses around the world, with whom we have worked so closely and productively for years. And News Corp benefits from the transaction both financially and by having found a partner to take Unruly forward and drive digital outstream revenues.”

Chief executive of News Corp, Robert Thomson, said the sale of Unruly marks an important step in its strategy of simplification at News Corp. 

"We look forward to partnering with Tremor and are grateful to Unruly and its truly talented team, who have helped our businesses in the U.K., US and Australia advance their digital advertising expertise.”

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