TLRA - Strong Headwinds For The Rubicon Project But There Is A Silver Lining
It seemed a good idea at the time, the merger between The Rubicon Project (RUBI) and Telaria (TLRA), which was consumed April 1, operating under the ticker RUBI. Our investment thesis was simple:
- It creates the biggest independent SSP (sell-side platform) which might combat the fragmentation and commoditization.
- Leveraging Telaria's CTV growth and achieving the $15-20M in cost synergies would give the combined company a clear path to profitability and cash generation, and the combined cash holdings are plenty to tie them over.
- Leveraging Rubicon's programmatic ad technology might revive Telaria's shrinking mobile and display