Affle 3i Ltd., a Mumbai-listed mobile advertising company, agreed to buy Perion Network Ltd. for about $420 million in cash, taking an Israeli ad-tech veteran off the Nasdaq and Tel Aviv exchanges as it pushes deeper into the U.S. and other developed markets.
Under the agreement announced Nov. 1, Perion shareholders will receive $11.70 a share, a 34.5% premium to the stock’s close on Oct. 30, the last trading day before the deal was signed. Perion’s board approved the deal unanimously. The buyer is Affle 3iL Ltd., an Israel-based subsidiary of Affle’s Singapore arm, and Perion will survive as a wholly owned unit that keeps its brand.
A shopping window
The merger agreement gives Perion 40 days, through Dec. 11, to actively solicit rival proposals, a go-shop provision that can draw out higher bids when a board sells without a full auction. Closing is expected in early 2027 and requires Perion shareholder approval and U.S. antitrust clearance.
Citibank is providing debt financing, and the deal isn’t conditioned on funding. Affle, in which Singapore sovereign fund GIC holds about 5.9%, said it would pair bank borrowing with existing cash and expects to be debt-free on a net basis right after closing. That is helped by the target’s own balance sheet: Perion had about $228 million of cash, deposits and marketable securities at the end of September and no debt, meaning more than half the equity price is covered by cash already inside the company.
Shrinking but cash-rich
Perion has been reshaping itself around retail media, connected TV, digital out-of-home screens and an AI tool that manages ad spending across channels. Revenue fell to about $440 million in 2025 from roughly $498 million a year earlier, and the company posted a small net loss. Affle, which sells performance-based mobile advertising priced per converted user, said the combination broadens its reach across channels and strengthens its business in North America. LUMA Partners advised Affle, and Canaccord Genuity advised Perion.
