Pandora has announced it will acquire AdsWizz, a leader in digital audio ad technology. The addition of AdsWizz will upgrade Pandora’s ad tech capabilities, which the company says will also “provide its advertisers with greater audience reach and expand the company’s revenue opportunities.”
AdsWizz is one of the few ad tech firms that is completely dedicated to digital audio, serving some of the largest players in the industry.
“Since I joined Pandora six months ago, I have highlighted ad tech as a key area of investment for us. Today we took an important step to advance that priority and accelerate our product roadmap,” said Roger Lynch, CEO of Pandora. “With our scale in audio advertising and AdsWizz’s tech expertise, we will create the largest digital audio advertising ecosystem, better serving global publishers and advertisers — while improving Pandora’s own monetization capabilities.”
Once fully integrated, advertisers will be able to transact through AdsWizz’s global marketplace across Pandora and other leading audio publishers. Pandora will support the growth of AdsWizz’s core business and invest in technology development that serves all constituents.
“For the last ten years, our mission at AdsWizz has been to enable the global monetization of digital audio by building innovative advertising technologies for music streaming services, digital broadcasters and podcasters. We believe in providing value to all stakeholders — brands, publishers and listeners — through engaging and well-targeted advertising experiences,” said Alexis van de Wyer, CEO of AdsWizz. “Now is the time to combine forces with Pandora, one of the leaders and pioneers in digital audio, and accelerate our ability to provide solutions that meet the increasingly sophisticated needs of advertisers and digital audiences.”
At the closing of the transaction, AdsWizz will become a subsidiary of Pandora, with van de Wyer remaining the CEO of AdsWizz. Pandora agreed to pay $145 million in a combination of cash and stock, with a minimum of 50 percent paid in cash and the remainder to be paid, at Pandora’s election, in either cash or stock (with the stock conversion based on the dollar-volume-weighted average trading price for Pandora’s common stock for 10 trading days prior to the closing), subject to certain price adjustments at and after closing. The acquisition does not change the first quarter 2018 guidance or the full year 2018 commentary that was provided on Pandora’s most recent earnings call. This transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2018 and is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval.
