Twitter sells MoPub mobile ad network to AppLovin for $ 1.05 billion

Twitter on Wednesday announced its decision to sell its mobile advertising network MoPub to mobile game developer AppLovin for $ 1.05 billion in cash.

Twitter said it made the decision to sell MoPub in order to accelerate the development and growth of its owned and operated revenue products. Twitter said the sale of MoPub was in line with its stated goal of reaching $ 7.5 billion in revenue by the end of 2023.

AppLovin shares rose more than 10% in after-hours trading on Wednesday. Twitter shares rose more than 2%.

“This transaction strengthens our focus and demonstrates confidence in our revenue product roadmap, accelerating our ability to invest in commodities that position Twitter for long-term growth and best serve the public conversation,” said Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, in a statement.

MoPub generated $ 188 million in revenue for Twitter in 2020, the company said on Wednesday. This represents nearly 5.9% of the company’s advertising revenue in 2020 and just over 5% of its total revenue in 2020.

The MoPub network is used by 45,000 mobile applications and reaches 1.5 billion addressable users, according to the announcement of the AppLovin agreement. The deal is expected to close in 2022, AppLovin said.

“We are excited about the opportunity to develop the AppLovin platform and further enhance our publisher monetization tools through this strategic transaction,” AppLovin CEO Adam Foroughi said in a statement. “We welcome the MoPub team and together we will work diligently to combine the best of MoPub into the AppLovin software platform.”

AppLovin’s business is split between games, which make a large chunk of their money from selling virtual items, and the marketing tools other game developers use for app discovery and promotion. Founded in 2011, AppLovin initially aimed to help mobile apps be discovered and make money.

Twitter bought MoPub for around $ 350 million in stock in September 2013, just before the company made its public market debut. The purchase was aimed at boosting Twitter’s ability to generate revenue from mobile ads.

This story is developing.