The New York-based firm, Outbrain, which delivers recommended online links at the bottom of news items, raised $160 million in its first public offering today, valued at $1.25 billion.
It sold 8 million shares of common stock on Nasdaq for $20 each, and the price surged to $20.99 on the first day of trading before falling down to $20.15 at the end of the day. The stock is traded under the stock symbol “OB.”
Outbrain, started in 2006 and launched with its first publisher in 2008, is a widget that appears at the bottom of media stories, such as those on CNN, and suggests further links to click on.
Advertisers can add their ads, and Outbrain will split a portion of the revenue with them.
The co-CEO of Outbrain, Yaron Galai, said in an interview –
So much that has changed and evolved, as we started before mobile even existed in a real way. The thing I’m proud of most is the vision for this market has remained remarkably consistent
He added –
And that was to solve two things. First, the user experience for people to help them discover what’s next. And the second is to create a sustainable source of revenue for media owners, for publishers and newspapers
Galai also said that the arrival of mobile was a game-changer for Outbrain. The user experience of a newsfeed on a mobile phone has evolved into a natural sort of experience, with users on social networks and other sites just acclimated to thumbing through a tailored feed of recommendations.
Galai also commented –
The results we see in the growth of the company generating a run rate of about a billion dollars in revenue is all based on engagement. Advertisers only pay us for actual engaged consumers. And so the growth is proof of that
