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StitcherAds joins Kargo at a time when the US company expects to exceed $100m in revenue.
Irish adtech company StitcherAds has been acquired by US-based Kargo for $64m.
StitcherAds has developed a performance-marketing service that helps advertisers drive sales on large social media platforms. The deal will help adtech business Kargo expand its services across platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok to increase the return on ad investment.
We launched StitcherAds in 2009 with a mission to empower retail marketers to deliver outstanding social advertising and engage consumers on a personal level. Joining the team at @Kargo will allow us to deepen our commitment.
— StitcherAds (@StitcherAds) October 18, 2021
The acquisition brings Kargo’s total media spend under management to $550m and, according to the Wall Street Journal, its CEO Harry Kargman is expecting net revenue to cross the $100m mark in 2021.
“The pandemic has accelerated all of the trends where consumers now feel much more comfortable shopping and buying online and picking up in store,” Kargman told the publication.
Based in Waterford, StitcherAds was founded in 2009 as Betapond by Declan Kennedy, Conor Ryan and Peter Elger. It rebranded to StitcherAds in 2014 after it was selected for incubation by Facebook.
Earlier this year, the software company announced plans to expand its team in response to increased business during the pandemic.
“StitcherAds and Kargo are a fantastic match, bringing together Kargo’s premium advertising marketplace with our commerce-driven approach to social media marketing,” said Kennedy, who is the CEO of StitcherAds.
The company employs around 120 people across its Waterford HQ and offices in London, New York and Austin. Its clients include Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, Primark and Bed Bath & Beyond, and the company pulls the majority of its revenue from North America.
StitcherAds recorded a loss of more than €620,000 in 2019 and had net liabilities of €6.9m at the end of the year, according to the company’s latest filed accounts seen by the Irish Times.
Kargo is a mobile-first ad marketplace headquartered in New York with Fortune 500 advertising partners. Before the StitcherAds deal, Kargo employed 225 people, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The publication also reported that Kennedy will now become general manager at Kargo Commerce, a new division that will combine both companies’ commerce ad functions.
“StitcherAds offers powerful advertising capabilities for our retail and [consumer packaged goods] clients. We can now provide a true multi-platform product portfolio that expands our footprint into paid social,” said Kargman.
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