Media measurement and verification platform Integral Ad Science (IAS) announced today it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by private equity firm Novacap in an all-cash transaction worth around $1.9 billion. The ad tech firm says that Novacap’s investment will position IAS for further growth, and help it continue to invest in “AI-first technology”.
The transaction, which was unanimously approved by IAS’s board of directors, is expected to close at the end of this year. IAS will continue operating under its current name and brand.
“Today’s announcement is an exciting milestone for IAS,” said Lisa Utzschneider, CEO of IAS. “As a private company with the support of Novacap, we will have access to new resources to achieve our strategic goals and further build upon the differentiated value we bring our customers as we advance our mission to be the global benchmark for trust and transparency in digital media quality. I’m proud of the strong momentum we’ve built for our company, the strength of our AI-powered measurement and optimisation platform, and the outstanding work of our employees.”
It’s not IAS’s first time under private equity ownership — Vista Equity Partners brought a majority stake in the company back in 2018. IAS then went public in 2021, reaching a valuation of over $3.3 billion on the week of its debut, and peaking at around $3.8 billion later that year. The company also acquired CTV advertising platform Publica that year for $220 million.
Since 2021, however, the company’s share price has slid (a common trend amongst most public ad tech businesses). Prior to the announcement of today’s deal, IAS’s market cap sat at roughly $1.4 billion.
As part of the transaction Vista will wind down its investment in the business.
Return to PE
Samuel Nasso, partner at Novacap, said the PE firm sees IAS as “an innovator and leader in its industry, with a stellar leadership team, and robust AI-first platform for Fortune 500 brands and publishers”. Nasso added that Novacap will seek to “accelerate [IAS’s] pace of innovation to deliver even more powerful advertising solutions for customers around the world.”
Novacap already has experience in the ad tech sector, through its 2023 acquisition of convergent TV specialist Cadent, which it bought for $600 million. On that front, Novacap seems to have followed through on its pledge to invest in further growth. Under Novacap’s ownership, Cadent went on to acquire machine learning-focused ad tech business AdTheorent in a deal worth $324 million.
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