Acquisition Grows Reach to Over 70% of All U.S. Internet Users Each Month
Phoenix, AZ, September 1, 2021 — Freestar, the leading monetization partner for content publishers, e-commerce sites, and app developers, today announced its acquisition of Sortable, a Canada-based ad management company that has been helping publishers optimize revenue since 2014. The acquisition brings a team of industry experts and class-leading technology, including the Sortable Exchange that will be the most efficient path for advertisers to access the billions of advertising impressions the company will bring to market each month. The deal builds on Freestar’s existing scale with the combined company reaching over 70% of all U.S. internet users each month across its portfolio of partner websites. The additional reach further cements Freestar as one of the largest sources of digital advertising inventory in the world. The acquisition comes on the heels of Freestar’s third consecutive top 1,000 ranking on the annual Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing companies in the U.S.
“We are excited to welcome the Sortable team and the incredible technology they have built into the Freestar organization. Adding Sortable’s capabilities to the ever-expanding suite of tools and products we already offer will ensure our publishers remain at the absolute cutting-edge of programmatic advertising,” said Kurt Donnell, CEO and President of Freestar. “While we are organically growing 50% again this year, we will continue to be strategic about acquisitions that add unique elements to our offering as was the case with our acquisition of Vdopia’s Chocolate app mediation platform last year and now Sortable. It was evident from the very first conversation that bringing the Freestar and Sortable organizations together was a no-brainer given the shared publisher first mindset and complementary strengths.”
“From the founding of Sortable, we have always been passionate about helping publishers optimize revenue through the many solutions we have brought to market. Our company has always believed in the importance of great customer service, continuous improvement and honesty in everything we do,” said Chris Reid, CEO of Sortable. “In Freestar, we found a perfect match as they share the same values. I am so excited to see what Freestar will be able to accomplish by combining the technology and resources of two of the most well-established companies in the space.”
The deal adds Sortable’s hundreds of represented websites to Freestar’s robust portfolio of partners. The deal will also add nearly 40 employees to the Freestar team, pushing the company well over 100 employees for the first time. The now larger team will enable Freestar to double-down on new product development and continue to deliver its hallmark white glove customer service. Kurt Donnell will continue as President and CEO of Freestar with several members of Sortable’s management joining Freestar’s senior team.
The joint company continues to be supported by Abry Partners who became Freestar’s first institutional investor in December of 2020.
About Freestar
In an ever-changing industry full of buzzwords and empty promises, Freestar was founded to simplify the challenges of monetizing websites and apps. Leveraging the ideal mix of programmatic header bidding, private marketplace deals, and a unified analytics platform, Freestar’s team of monetization experts help publishers, e-commerce sites and apps unleash their true revenue potential. Freestar’s ever expanding family of publisher and app developer partners reach over 60% of all U.S. internet users each month and provide unique opportunities for advertisers to reach their target audiences efficiently at scale. For more information, visit www.freestar.com.
About Sortable
Sortable began as an online publisher with 20 websites and apps designed to help consumers. In 2014, with deep experience building their own monetization technologies they launched their first product for fellow publishers. Sortable was a pioneer in the early days of header bidding and has continued to build a best in class platform to maximize publisher yield. Sortable’s platform is used on over 2000 sites and designed for scale. For more information visit sortable.com.
Media Contact
Lauren Goveo
Director, PR Freestar
lauren.goveo@freestar.com
602.320.5613