AppNexus files for IPO with expected valuation of up to $2bn
Adtech outfit AppNexus has filed papers for a initial public offering (IPO) and is seeking a valuation of up to $2bn with the float expected to come in the second quarter of 2017, according to reports.
AppNExus is said to be asking for a $2bn valuation
The Wall Street Journal reports that AppNexus has quietly filed paperwork for the IPO, and is in talks with Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase to serve as underwriters for the deal, citing sources close to the proceedings.
The reports come just two weeks after Snap reportedly made a similar move, and two months after fellow adtech outfit The Trade Desk similarly IPO’d, with that outfit valued at close to $1bn the opening day of trading.
Earlier in the year, AppNexus and The Trade Desk were said to have filed S1 filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Last month AppNexus revealed it is carrying out an overhaul of its operations in a move that will see it implement 150 redundancies across the globe, taking its headcount to beneath 1,000. This move had further-fueled speculation that the adtech outfit was positioning itself to IPO in the near-future, with observers nothing the reduction in its overheads would make it more attractive to investors.
In the months leading up to this AppNexus (which WPP has a 15% stake in) had been aggressively pitting itself against Google throughout 2016 in a bid to underline its point-of-difference in the market, plus the value it provides to advertisers.
Among the key movements the adtech outfit has helped to engineer in the past 12 months is the promotion of header bidding a tool for publishers to better monetize their ad stack, and reduce their reliance on the ever-dominant Google DoubleClick.
Speaking earlier with The Drum, AppNexus president Michael Rubenstein shared his thoughts on how 2016 would be a momentous year for the ad tech sector.
He went on to say: "The cycle of independent ad tech companies is playing out. You had all these companies funded in 2007/08, and some of them emerged as strong companies, but lots are not working very well. The latter can't survive independently, and so I've got the feeling that a lot of those companies will have to find ways to survive or they'll go out of business."
At time of publication, AppNexus had not publicly commented on the reports.