Apollo-owned Yahoo to Buy 25% Stake in Advertising Network Taboola

Yahoo is taking a nearly 25% stake in public advertising company Taboola. In exchange, Taboola will become Yahoo’s native advertising partner through a 30-year commercial agreement.

Yahoo was taken private by Apollo Global Management last year for $5 billion.

The company delivers ads that look like content, often combining advertising and information. Taboola went public through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in early 2021 valued at $2.6 billion.

The deal puts Taboola ads on Yahoo’s news, sports and finance platforms, and makes it a standard offering through Yahoo’s advertising network.

Yahoo currently reaches nearly 900 million monthly active users, which represents a significant deal for Taboola. The company currently partners with 9,000 publishers and reaches 500 million users a day.

In its most-recent quarter, Taboola lost $26 million, or 10 cents per share, on revenue of $332.5 million. Revenue was down 2% from a year earlier, but it reported positive operating cash flow of $23.2 million and $308.3 million of cash and equivalents on the books.

Both companies expect to generate $1 billion in annual revenue from this newly formed partnership. Yahoo will also get a seat on Taboola’s board of directors.