Twitter to sell mobile ad unit MoPub for $1 bln

Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) said Wednesday it has agreed to sell mobile ad company MoPub to AppLovin Corp (APP.O) for $1.05 billion in cash, as the microblogging platform looks to focus more on advertising on Its application and website.

MoPub, which generated about $188 million in annual revenue for Twitter last year, allows companies to track ad inventory in real time, similar to Google (GOOGL.O) DoubleClick.

“The sale of MoPub puts us in a position to focus more of our efforts on the tremendous potential of advertising on our website and in our apps,” said Ned Segal, Twitter’s chief financial officer.

Twitter said Wednesday it will focus on its core business by accelerating the development of new products and features to meet its goal of doubling its revenue in 2023 to $7.5 billion.

The MoPub deal comes months after Apple updated its mobile operating system that powers iPhones and iPads to make it more difficult for digital advertisers, including social media platforms and mobile game developers, to track users on Apple mobile devices. Read more

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said Wednesday that the sale would allow Twitter to invest in “core products that make it viable for long-term growth.”

It bought the social media company MoPub for approximately $350 million in 2013.

Twitter struck a string of deals for privately owned tech companies this year, including podcast app Breaker and email newsletter startup Revue, as it looks to hit its 2023 revenue target. Read more

The sale to AppLovin was unanimously approved by Twitter’s board of directors.

AppLovin, which recently went public in April, is a mobile gaming company with a portfolio of more than 200 free-to-play mobile games, such as “Word Connect,” “Slap Kings,” and “Bingo Story.”

The company’s shares were up 9% to $84 in extended trading, while Twitter’s stock was up 2% to $62.57.