The Taboola and Outbrain merger, a plan by the clickbait players to be better competitors to Google and Facebook, is reportedly off.
Multiple reports in the US say the attempt to combine the internet’s two largest content-recommendation companies has failed.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) quoted a person “familiar with the matter” saying Taboola wanted to renegotiate the deal because the coronavirus pandemic had affected the business of each company.
But the two couldn’t reach an agreement.
Techcrunch says the merger would have valued the combined entity at more than $2 billion.
“We’ve seen changing conditions in the market due to COVID-19, and we decided to terminate the deal,” said a person close to the merger, who asked to remain anonymous.
Taboola and Outbrain pay publishers to have content displayed on a new website. The two then get paid by the companies wanting to promote on those news sites.
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