ironSource to go public through $11.1 billion merger with Thoma Bravo-backed SPAC By Reuters

(Reuters) – Advertising technology firm ironSource agreed to go public through a merger with a blank-check company backed by private equity firm Thoma Bravo, at an implied pro forma equity value of about $11.1 billion, the companies said in a statement on Sunday.

The deal with Thoma Bravo Advantage, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), is expected to provide ironSource up to $2.3 billion in cash proceeds, including an oversubscribed PIPE (private investment in public equity) of $1.3 billion and $1 billion of cash held in the trust account of Thoma Bravo Advantage.

IronSource, one of Israel’s most valuable private tech companies, provides developers a platform to acquire users and display ads within mobile-phone games.

Founded in 2010, it began as a team of five developers building consumer applications and has grown to operate in cities including London, New York, Beijing, Bangalore, Seoul and Tokyo, reaching 1.5 billion monthly users in 2018.

Thoma Bravo was one of the first technology-focused buyout firms to join Wall Street’s SPAC craze earlier this year, when Thoma Bravo Advantage raised $1 billion in its initial public offering (IPO).

A SPAC is a shell company that raises funds in an IPO with the aim of acquiring a private company, which then becomes public as result of the merger.

SPACs have emerged as one of Wall Street’s most popular investment vehicles and the first two months of 2021 saw record M&A activity involving blank-check firms, with 70 deals worth more than $150 billion, according to Refinitiv data.