Israeli Adtech company IronSource is pulling up on Wall Street via SPAC merger, putting the company’s valuation at $11.1 billion, a record number for an Israeli tech company, and way more than early speculations.
$120M in funding, valuation topping $11B
IronSource was founded in 2010 by three brothers Roi, Eyal, and Itai Milrad with Tomer Bar Zeev, who joined with another company he founded in FoxTab. After time, the company moved its focus to mobile and installing engines with a product called InstallCore, both an app installer and campaign manager. Since then, IronSource grew both organically, and inorganically through various acquisitions, such as AfterDownload and video advertising technology SteamRail.
IronSource has raised close to $120 million to date, from investors like Viola Ventures, 83North, Disruptive, and more. In 2019, stakeholders sold 25% of their company stock for $450 million to CVC in a deal that allowed investors to see return without waiting to go public. At the time, the deal was made on an estimated valuation of $1.7 million, which is way off the company’s current over $11 billion valuation now.
The company’s reports hinted at a few reasons why the valuation had jumped so high in so little time. Despite, and possibly thanks to the COVID-19 crisis, IronSource enjoyed a high increase in revenues along with experiencing growth at every level. The company was quick to point out 2020’s $332 million in revenue, meaning an 83% increase compared to 2019, with an adjusted EBITDA of 31% or $104 million. Furthermore, the numbers show that the IronSource platform has been implemented in 87% of the top 100 global players, and is counted among the top 3 in the industry.
The private equity firm that acquired Imperva
On Sunday, IronSource announced its intentions of going public via SPAC merger with private equity firm Thoma Bravo Advantage, which has already placed more than 300 investments in software, including the acquisition of Israeli company Imperva.
"Joining forces with Thoma Bravo Advantage to bring IronSource to the public markets presents an opportunity to partner with the world's leading software investor to achieve the next level of growth," said Tomer Bar Zeev, CEO and co-founder of IronSource. "Despite our previous progress pursuing a traditional IPO, when we met with Thoma Bravo Advantage we found an alignment of vision and shared conviction about the long-term growth we can drive at IronSource that made them the perfect partner as we take this next step in growing our company, and the market as a whole."
CRO and co-founder Omer Kaplan told Geektime that the company was on its way to a traditional IPO, but when the founders met with Orlando Bravo, founder and managing partner at Thoma Bravo, “we felt a strong connection with them.” Kaplan also explains that the IPO won’t just satisfy executive and founding teams, but all employees hold stock options.
What’s next after going public?
Kaplan: “We see our move to the public sector as incredibly important in the life of the company, but it’s just the beginning. We will continue to develop a leading global software company by developing from within, in addition to strategic acquisitions that help expand our variety of mobile and application solutions.”
