Outbrain, a US-based online content discovery platform that counts quantitative trading firm Susquehanna International Group (SIG) and publisher Gruner + Jahr as shareholders, raised $200m from investment manager The Baupost Group on Tuesday.
Founded in 2016, Outbrain provides access to an online content recommendation platform used by digital businesses to link their website pages to monetised content.
Yaron Galai, Outbrain’s co-founder and co-chief executive, said: “We have bold plans for the future to continue delivering critical innovation to our premium media partners worldwide and expanding our powerful open web global advertising platform.”
The company filed for an initial public offering on the Nasdaq Global Select Market late last month. It had been on track to merge with peer Taboola in an $850m deal agreed in October 2019, before the plans were scrapped in September the following year.
Outbrain agreed to acquire advertising software provider Litagus in February 2019, which at that point was owned by Gruner + Jahr. That deal involved Gruner + Jahr receiving $40.1m of Outbrain’s shares.
The Baupost investment increased Outbrain’s total funding to at least $395m. Undisclosed investors provided $45m for the business in 2016, following a $50m capital injection from SIG’s Susquehanna Growth Equity unit the year before.
The company’s existing investors include Viola Ventures, Index Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Gemini Israel Funds, Glenrock Israel, Rhodium and Zohar Gilon.