PUBM - Elon Musk's X holds talks with Amazon PubMatic in push to lure smaller advertisers - WSJ

2023-12-08 15:24:35 ET

Elon Musk's social media company X (formerly Twitter) is looking at partnerships with other ad platforms that might help it lure small and mid-sized businesses, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Friday.

X has seen a big outflow of advertisers recently after owner Musk described an antisemitic post as "the actual truth," following which the billionaire businessman responded strongly to the brands that pulled their business. Musk has also recently attacked Walt Disney ( DIS ) top boss Bob Iger on the social media platform.

X has discussed a potential tie-up with Amazon ( NASDAQ: AMZN ) that would make X ads available through the tech and retail giant's ad-buying software, WSJ said, citing people familiar with the matter.

"This deal, if reached, could draw in some of the millions of small and midsize businesses that peddle everything from paper clips to slipcovers on the e-commerce giant's marketplace and buy ads through its tools, the people said. The talks were preliminary and might not lead to a deal, the people said," WSJ reported.

X has also held preliminary talks about giving access to some of its ad inventory to digital advertising platform PubMatic ( NASDAQ: PUBM ), WSJ said, citing a person familiar with the matter, who added that the talks have stalled but are likely to resume in the new year.

Class A shares of PubMatic ( PUBM ) moved higher after the report, rising as much as 8.8% to $17.37. They were last up 6.8% at $17.06 in late afternoon trade.

WSJ added that the discussions with Amazon ( AMZN ) and PubMatic ( PUBM ) were part of a push by X chief executive Linda Yaccarino to broaden the microblogging website's advertiser base.

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