OpenWeb Makes Strategic Acquisition of Hive Media Group, Providing More Value to Premium Publishers

The acquisition follows the company's Series E, reaching a $1.1b valuation in 2021

NEW YORK, Jan. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- OpenWeb, the premium audience relationship platform, today announced it has acquired Hive Media Group, a digital publisher and engagement platform that builds proprietary and world class publisher technologies. Hive Media Group was founded in 2016 by Daniel Sagis, Guy Yeshua and Stacy Abraham.  The acquisition of Hive Media was made by OpenWeb for a mix of cash and stock with a total value of $60M.

"We are thrilled to welcome Hive Media to the OpenWeb team," said Nadav Shoval, CEO and co-founder of OpenWeb. "Right now, publishers are looking for the best technology available to improve revenue and own the relationships with their audiences. With this acquisition, we're doubling down on these efforts, building even greater capacity for innovation and value to our publishing partners, who aim to have more connection with their audiences."

Hive is well-established in the online media landscape, and will enable OpenWeb to provide more value to publishers. The acquisition brings on board Hive's team of over 60 employees including product and engineering. This additional expertise and resource will enhance OpenWeb's ability to build and test innovative products for publishers to power audience relationships, particularly as it pertains to enabling first-party data relationships, building more impactful editorial tools, and increasing the long term value for publishers. Hive's team brings best in class expertise in session optimization, user acquisition and SEO tools that will be tested on OpenWeb partner websites and then formally rolled out after the initial transition.

"We have known and admired OpenWeb and their leadership team for many years," said Guy Yeshua, at Hive Media Group. "Our missions are aligned—coming together only makes our efforts to improve digital experiences for publishers and users that much stronger. As we forge a new path together with OpenWeb, we look forward to creating new, powerful tools  that empowers publishers."

As the integration begins, Hive Media Group will operate as an independent business unit within OpenWeb. Guy Yeshua and Stacy Abraham will remain as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer, respectively. Guy Yeshua will join Openweb's executive leadership team. With the acquisition, OpenWeb's global headcount will reach over 225.

To learn more, visit OpenWeb's blog.

About OpenWeb
OpenWeb's mission is to improve online conversation. As a product company, OpenWeb partners with publishers and brands to build strong, direct relationships with their audiences. OpenWeb's technology empowers its partners to build vibrant communities rooted in healthy conversations and robust social experiences. OpenWeb works with more than 1,000 top-tier publishers, hosting more than 100 million active users each month.

Founded in 2012, OpenWeb has over 150 employees in New York City, Tel Aviv, and Kiev and is backed by world-class investors including Insight Venture Partners, Georgian, Entrée Capital, AltaIR Capital, New York Times, Samsung Next, Dentsu, Norma Investments, and ScaleUp. To date, the company has raised $223 million in funding and is currently valued at over $1 billion. To learn more about OpenWeb's platform visit OpenWeb.com, or follow @OpenWebHQ on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Hive Media Group
Hive Media Group was founded in 2016 with the goal of redefining what it means to be a data-driven digital publisher. Hive Media Group's technology powers over 50 million sessions per month across dozens of web properties. 

SOURCE OpenWeb