Taboola, the Israeli web content recommendation company, has revealed in an SEC filing that it is currently the subject of an antitrust investigation being conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice. The criminal investigation is related to the company’s hiring practices.
This is certainly not something which a company wants to see happen just ahead of its initial public offering. Taboola plans to soon hold an IPO on the NASDAQ which it expects will leave it with a $3 billion valuation. And it just reported better than expected revenues for the first quarter 2021. Taboola reported revenues of $300 million to $303 million, versus the prior projection of just $286 million.
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Taboola also reported better than expected Gross Profit in the range of $87 million to $90 million, versus the prior projection of $78 million; and ex-TAC Revenues in the range of $104 million to $107 million, versus the prior projection of $95 million.
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The company filed an F-4 form with the Securities and Exchange Commission over this past weekend. It did so as part of Taboola’s plans for its IPO. In it Taboola stated that, “in April 2021, we became aware that the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice is conducting a criminal investigation of hiring activities in our industry, including us. We are cooperating with the Antitrust Division. While there can be no assurances as to the ultimate outcome, we do not believe that our conduct violated applicable law.”
Little at this time is known as to the, or even existence, of any complaints directed specifically at Taboola. The investigation could just be perfunctory, or it could be serious. Either way, Taboola investors are probably concerned right now and holding their breaths waiting for the official outcome of the investigation to be revealed.
Founded in 2007, Taboola states that it helps people find relevant content online, matching them with news stories, articles, blogs, videos, apps, products and other content they’re likely to want to explore.
