The search will not be easy: firstly, because of debts, and secondly, because of the pandemic, the processes of concluding agreements in the ad tech industry have almost stopped
Ad tech company MediaMath , which as of June 2020 has more than $ 500 million in debt, has approached investment bank Centerview Partners to assess its strategic options, including debt restructuring or sale, according to Digiday , citing its own sources. A MediaMath spokeswoman declined to comment.
MediaMath offers advertisers and agencies its DSP and DMP platforms for advertising and campaign management. MediaMath’s competitors, Google, Amazon, Adobe, and the company, failed to reach the same scale as its other competitor, The Trade Desk, which is currently valued at $ 16 billion. The difference between MediaMath’s and The Trade Desk’s customer approaches is that the former works. directly with advertisers, and the second is more focused on working with agencies.
The coronavirus crisis hit MediaMath hard: in April, the company cut its staff from 600 by 8% and cut salaries.
It will not be easy to find a MediaMath buyer: firstly, due to debts, and secondly, because of the pandemic, the ad tech deals have almost stopped, except for those already at the finish line — in particular, the Rubicon and Telaria mergers.
AdExchanger is trying to evaluate potential buyers: “Retailers like Walmart and Target have money, but no desire to buy DSP. Google or Amazon will not allow it to buy antitrust laws. AT&T? Hardly. Oracle and Salesforce do not have their own DSPs, as they have repeatedly said that they are not interested in it. Zeta Global or The Trade Desk could enter into this deal, but will not want to pay off the company’s debts. Last year, MediaMath entered into a SOURCE partnership with the Rubicon Project and Telaria, which have now merged. Possible buyer? But the capitalization of Rubicon is only $ 770 million, so it’s unlikely. “
The investment bank that will consider potential partners, Centerview Partners, has experience in consulting on large deals in the media sphere, including the merger of Viacom-CBS and the acquisition of Disney studio 21st Century Fox, but in the field of ad tech is not very well known.