Zeta Global to Acquire LiveIntent for $250 Million

By Bobby Samwell • Wednesday, October 09 10:19 • Permanent Link

Zeta Global has announced its agreement to acquire LiveIntent, a move that is expected to significantly enhance Zeta's position in AI-powered marketing. The acquisition, valued at $250 million, will bring substantial benefits to Zeta Global, as it expands the company's identity graph, unveils a new publisher cloud, and accelerates growth in mobile and retail media.

LiveIntent's assets and capabilities are set to bolster Zeta's marketing platform by integrating LiveIntent's extensive identity graph of over 235 million unique hashed email addresses per month into Zeta's data cloud. This is a significant addition to Zeta's identity resolution solutions.

The acquisition also brings over 2,000 premium publishers to Zeta, including relationships with eight of the top 10 largest publishers in the comscore rankings. This expansion into publisher monetization will allow Zeta to launch a new product offering, the publisher cloud, creating a compelling closed-loop ecosystem that rivals the reach and targeting capabilities of walled gardens.

Additionally, the acquisition is expected to elevate Zeta's newly released mobile and retail media solutions, empowering marketers to unify identity across devices and channels, predict customer behavior, and leverage AI in real time to activate intelligence-powered cross-channel campaigns.

The transaction details reveal that Zeta will purchase LiveIntent for a total consideration of $250 million, consisting of $77.5 million in cash-on-hand and $172.5 million in common stock at closing. Furthermore, there is potential for an earnout of 50% cash and 50% stock tied to significant adjusted EBITDA growth and sustained margin expansion targets in fiscal years 2025, 2026, and 2027.

Zeta's CEO, David A. Steinberg, expressed excitement about the acquisition, stating that LiveIntent meets all four of Zeta's M&A principles and is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings. The company also reaffirmed its third-quarter 2024 guidance, including revenue of at least $255 million and adjusted EBITDA of at least $50.2 million.

The transaction is anticipated to close in the fourth quarter of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions. Zeta Global will host a conference call to discuss the acquisition, and a live webcast of the call will be available on the company's investor relations website.

This acquisition marks a significant development for Zeta Global, positioning the company to continue its growth trajectory and deliver enhanced capabilities to its customers in the AI-powered marketing space. Today the company's shares have moved 5.6% to a price of $33.61. For more information, read the company's full 8-K submission here.

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