OpenWeb acquiring advertising platform ADYOULIKE for $100 million

(Meir Orbach, Calcalist: 12th April 2022) US/Israeli unicorn OpenWeb, which develops an audience relationship platform, announced on Tuesday that it is acquiring Paris-based ADYOULIKE, a global advertising platform. This acquisition connects OpenWeb’s network of more than 1,000 top-tier publishers including Forbes, Newsweek, and Refinery29, with ADYOULIKE’s digital advertising marketplace. The acquisition of ADYOULIKE was made for a mix of cash and stock with a total value of $100 million. This is OpenWeb’s second acquisition of 2022 after announcing In January that it had acquired Hive Media Group, a U.S. digital publisher and engagement platform, in a deal valued at $60 million. D5 Capital is an early-stage investor In OpenWeb (previously Spot.IM).

ADYOULIKE was launched in Paris in 2011 by Julien Verdier, Yohan Elmaalem, Francis Turner, and Dale Lovell, and today works with over 4,000 brands, agencies, and publishers including The Guardian, Reach, Prisma Media, and Groupe Marie-Claire.

Following the acquisition, Julien Verdier will join OpenWeb’s executive team as the company’s General Manager of Advertising. ADYOULIKE’s more than 70 employees will also join OpenWeb, bringing its global headcount to nearly 300, with new offices in Paris and London.

OpenWeb raised $150 million in a Series E led by Insight Partners and Georgian last November. Other investors that participated in the round included tech investor Omer Cygler, Israeli-based investment group Harel, Entrée Capital, The New York Times Company, ad powerhouse Dentsu, Samsung Next, and Scott Galloway.

"Over the last seven years, OpenWeb has partnered with top-tier media to build thousands of healthy, engaged, loyal communities," said Nadav Shoval, CEO and co-founder of OpenWeb. "Our acquisition of ADYOULIKE will allow us to leverage consent-based, first-party data and connect the most engaged communities on the web with brands, powering a more sustainable web."

ADYOULIKE's established reputation in the European market, and their experienced leadership team, will further propel OpenWeb's scale, providing another entrypoint into the global marketplace. Following the acquisition, Julien Verdier will join OpenWeb's executive team as the company's General Manager of Advertising. ADYOULIKE's more than 70 employees will also join OpenWeb, bringing global headcount to nearly 300, with new offices in Paris and London.

"It's been an incredible experience building ADYOULIKE from the ground up with my co-founders," said Julien Verdier. "Today, we start a new chapter. We are thrilled to join OpenWeb—a company with a powerful and important mission—and our team is excited to find innovative ways to power solutions for the open internet."