The France-based online video advertising specialist Teads has taken on $47 million in debt financing; a sum set to foot further expansion into the Asian market and bolster its product line via acquisitions.
The so-called ‘originator’ of outstream video ads – placements that show in-line with the content of an article – already holds an office in Tokyo, but intends to move into Southeast Asia and China as early as the end of the year.
The investment is thanks to a bank syndicate including BNPP, Bank of China, HSBC, Banque Palantine and BPI, and arrives after four years of profitability.
Teads told PerformanceIN that the combination of a vast internet population, an explosion in mobile technology and increasing consumption of media on smartphones presents an “exciting” opportunity to increase its market share in these areas.
Additionally, video advertising in the APAC region is set to be worth $600 million this year according to Statista, and is forecasted to reach $1.6 billion by 2021, offering Teads – a group that has developed formats specifically for mobile – a fertile market in which to build foundations.
Heady competition
Until recently, video advertising owned a relatively small share of the digital ad pie. However, a slew of recent acquisitions have signalled high demand for innovative video ad tech, resulting in Teads being one of very few remaining independent specialists.
Facebook set this precedent with the 2014 purchase of LiveRail, while content recommendation platform Taboola joined the race last week, acquiring ConvertMedia for an estimated $100 million.
But this competitive pressure is doing little to sway Teads, according to the group’s executive chairman, Pierre Chappaz.
“Competition spurs innovation. And with our latest round of financing, we are able to further develop our offering in Asia, and look to make acquisitions that will add further value to our company,” he said.
Reaching 1.2 billion unique users a month, Chappaz labels Teads as the world’s “number one” video marketplace, adding that the company’s perspective has always been to “maintain and strengthen” its position.
“Our approach was very disruptive in the marketplace and we plan to maintain this,” said Chappaz.
“Not only did we partner with the majority of the leading premium publishers across the world, but we were the first player to openly discuss viewability and sustainable advertising in 2011.”
Ahead of its mergers & acquisitions strategy, and plans for international expansion, Teads currently boasts a team of over 450 employees across 26 offices within 18 markets.