Affle 3i, the Indian mobile-advertising company, agreed to buy Israel's Perion Network for $11.70 a share in cash, a deal that values the Nasdaq- and Tel Aviv-listed ad-tech firm at about $420 million, according to a filing Affle made to India's stock exchanges on Sunday.

The deal gives a mid-sized Indian listed group a foothold in U.S. connected-TV, retail-media and digital out-of-home advertising. For investors holding Affle in Mumbai, it also tests a pitch the company has made for years: that it can buy weaker businesses cheaply and lift their margins by moving them onto its own pricing model.

The offer is 34.5% above Perion's closing price of $8.70 on Friday, Oct. 30, according to Calcalist's Ctech. The headline number overstates what Affle is paying for the business. Perion had about $228 million of cash and no financial debt as of Sept. 30, Affle said in its filing, which leaves roughly $192 million for the operating company before other liabilities, by Ctech's arithmetic.

What Affle is buying in Perion

Perion, headquartered in Tel Aviv, sells advertising technology across connected TV, retail media and digital billboards, run through a platform it calls Perion One and an AI agent named Outmax. It was founded in 1999 as IncrediMail, an email software company, and listed on Nasdaq in 2006 before turning to digital advertising, Ctech reported.

The business has shrunk fast. Revenue fell from $743.2 million in 2023 to $498.3 million in 2024 and $439.9 million in 2025, according to figures in Affle's disclosure. Profit after tax went from $115 million to a loss of $7.9 million over the same period.

Most of that decline traces to Microsoft. Search advertising made up 46% of Perion's revenue in 2023, and Microsoft's Bing accounted for 85% of that segment, Ctech reported. Microsoft changed how it paid distribution partners in 2024, and Globes reported that further changes this year, including the removal of some publishers from Bing's network in June, led Perion to cut its guidance again. Perion's market value had dropped 82% from its April 2023 level of 7 billion shekels, Globes said.

Affle's chairperson, managing director and chief executive, Anuj Khanna Sohum, said in the release that the purchase would strengthen the company's CPCU (cost per converted user) business in developed markets and help it chase what it calls a "10X decadal growth vision." Perion Chief Executive Tal Jacobson said the agreement "marks an important milestone for Perion." Perion will keep its brand and operate as a subsidiary.

How the deal is structured and paid for

The purchase is being made by Affle 3iL Ltd., an Israel-based step-down subsidiary of the Indian parent, through a reverse triangular merger: an Affle unit will merge into Perion, which will survive as a wholly owned subsidiary. Perion's shares will then be delisted from Nasdaq and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

Affle plans to pay with committed bank financing plus its own cash. Citibank is the financing bank, LUMA Partners is Affle's financial adviser and Barnea Jaffa Lande is its legal counsel, the filing said. Perion was advised by Canaccord Genuity and Meitar Law Offices, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Affle said it expects to be net debt free immediately after the acquisition and to reach a revenue run rate of more than $700 million in its fiscal year ending March 2028. It plans to change how Perion recognizes revenue as it moves the business onto the CPCU model and to review its contracts, and it expects the deal to add to earnings per share by the end of the first year after closing.

The buyer is far stronger than the target on current numbers. Affle reported on Oct. 30 that revenue for the July-September quarter rose 21.2% from a year earlier to 7.84 billion rupees, while net profit rose 17.4% to 1.30 billion rupees. Ctech put Affle's market value at about $2.5 billion.

Recent Indian deal headlines have mostly involved foreign buyers coming in, such as Fairfax's takeover of IDBI Bank. Affle's purchase runs the other way, with an Indian company paying cash for a U.S.-listed asset.

A go-shop window and the shareholder vote

Perion's board approved the deal unanimously, but the agreement gives the company a 40-day "go-shop" period, running through Dec. 11, to solicit competing bids, Ctech and The Jerusalem Post reported. Affle's own filing put the indicative time to completion at 180 days, subject to that process and the shareholder vote.

Perion's register is concentrated among Israeli institutions. Harel holds about 10%, Migdal about 6% and The Phoenix about 2.5%, while activist fund Value Base owns about 5%, according to Ctech. Many of those holders bought at much higher prices. Closing also requires Perion shareholder approval and antitrust clearance, including in the U.S.

Affle canceled its results call scheduled for Monday and replaced it with a shareholders' letter, citing the acquisition. It will instead host an investor group meeting with Ambit Capital at 4:30 p.m. India time on Nov. 2, the first chance for analysts to question management on the price and the financing. U.S. investors get their first chance to price the deal when Nasdaq opens on Monday, New York time.