The social media behemoth announced the sale of its MoPub mobile advertising network to an ad-tech company and game developer – AppLovin. The deal is worth $1.05 billion in cash and is to be closed next year. To increase the ability to generate revenue from mobile ads, Twitter purchased in September 2013 for about $350 million in stock. From Twitter’s perspective, the deal is just one step toward reaching its goal of scoring $7.5 billion in revenue by the end of 2023. About the agreement, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey stated: “This transaction increases our focus and demonstrates confidence in our revenue product roadmap, accelerating our ability to invest in the core products that position Twitter for long-term growth and best serve the public conversation.”
MoPub – which provides monetization solutions for mobile app publishers and developers – accounted for nearly 5.9% of Twitter’s 2020 advertising revenue, with figures coming in at $188 million.
The sale is just one of Twitter’s multiple efforts to boost its business in 2021. So far, the company has bought the add-free reading tool Scroll and the newsletter platform Revue. Moreover, it launched Clubhouse-like audio rooms, interest-based communities, and various experimental features to make the platform a more pleasant space to spend time.
After the news hit the wires, Twitter stock price added more than 2%, while AppLovin jumped 8%.
Sources: cnbc.com, techcrunch.com