I wrote for Naavik about IronSource going public via a SPAC merger. Read the full article here.
Why I wrote about this
2021 was shaping up to be a crazy year, with acquisitions and IPOs everywhere. Although this wasn’t technically an IPO, I had to research what exactly a SPAC is and how its mechanics actually work.
The gist of it
IronSource announced it would go public through a merger with Thoma Bravo Advantage at an $11B valuation, raising $2.3B in cash. The move followed earlier IPO preparations and substantial prior funding, including a 2019 round that valued the company at $1.75B. IronSource is opting for the faster SPAC route instead of a traditional IPO.
Financially, IronSource posted $332M in 2020 revenue (up 83% year-over-year) and $104M in EBITDA. The valuation reflects expectations for strong continued growth. For comparison, competitor AppLovin just filed to go public with significantly higher revenue but weaker profitability.
Strategically, both IronSource and AppLovin have been vertically integrating: expanding beyond ad mediation into broader publishing, monetization, and game operation tools. With privacy shifts and advertising identifier deprecation accelerating industry change, scale is becoming critical. Competing with Google and Facebook’s advertising dominance is no small task, but companies like IronSource represent some of the strongest challengers in the ecosystem.
Key takeaways
- IronSource to go public through a SPAC at an $11B valuation.
- Strong 2020 growth and profitability underpin bullish long-term expectations.
- Competing with the Google/Facebook duopoly requires scale, tools, and ecosystem control.
- Privacy changes will intensify consolidation and favor full-stack platforms.