In those three years, Equativ, which was formally known as Smart AdServer, rebranded, acquired server-side ad dynamic insertion abilities through an acquisition of Nowtilus, received investment from Bridgepoint and struck a partnership and investment from telecom giant and T-Mobile owner Deutsche Telekom.
Through these moves, Equativ, which also contains buying capabilities through a DSP acquisition, has tripled in size in the past three years.
The combined companies will have 720 employees, of which Sharethrough will contribute around 160. The organizations will be merged internally by 2025, though the merging of the tech platforms will likely take around 18 months to two years, Créput said.
It’s smart for Equativ to acquire Sharethrough to deepen its presence in the U.S. market, as an acquisition is a quicker way to build than hiring, said Ana Milicevic, co-founder of programmatic consultancy Sparrow Advisors. But stealing business from the biggest SSPs will be a larger challenge, she said.
“What’s unique about the new company and why would a buyer choose to spend there as opposed to with PubMatic and Magnite?” Milicevic said on the question the company will need to address with clients. “With the degree of automation in the programmatic ecosystem, I don’t know how much you can differentiate on customer experience.”
