Digital-media company Aleph Holding said it sold a stake to private-equity firm CVC Capital Partners for $470 million, valuing the company at $2 billion. The company is preparing for an initial public offering as soon as early 2022, according to people familiar with the matter.
Aleph generates revenue by helping corporations and social-media companies, including Facebook Inc.,
Twitter Inc.,
TWTR 1.29%
and
Snap Inc.,
SNAP -1.55%
work with each other in geographies mainly outside of the U.S. and Europe. It has been profitable for several years and wasn’t looking for new capital to fund its growth. Instead, this fundraising will allow existing employees and shareholders, including founder and Chief Executive Officer
Gastón Taratuta,
to sell stock.
In an interview, Mr. Taratuta said he had spoken with several private-equity investors but was most interested in
CVC
CVC 2.05%
because of its global footprint.
“I wanted an investor that understood global economies and with global exposure,” Mr. Taratuta said of CVC. He said roughly 90% of Aleph’s revenue is generated outside of the U.S.
Aleph expects to continue expanding its offerings in developing countries through acquisitions before an IPO, Mr. Taratuta said.
Aleph is on track to more than double its annual revenue in 2021 to roughly $150 million, company executives said, and gross advertising sales are expected to be $1 billion in 2021.
Imran Khan,
Snap’s former chief strategy officer and the CEO and co-founder of the online e-commerce platform Verishop Inc., recently joined Aleph as chairman of the board. Mr. Khan worked with Mr. Taratuta and Aleph during his time at Snap.
Mr. Khan is known for his work on IPOs. He led Snap through its 2017 offering and before that, as a banker at
Credit Suisse Group AG
, helped the bank land a key role in the largest IPO ever—
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
Aleph, which is based in Miami, is the latest iteration of a company that was known as IMS Internet Media Services and was founded by Mr. Taratuta in 2005. In 2015, the company sold a 51% stake to Sony Pictures Television, a division of
Sony Group Corp.
, for roughly $100 million. Mr. Taratuta and his partners repurchased some of that stake in 2019. Sony remains a minority shareholder.
Write to Maureen Farrell at maureen.farrell@wsj.com
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Appeared in the July 13, 2021, print edition as ‘Aleph Holding Sells Stake to CVC.’
