Twitter buys minority stake in digital advertising firm Aleph

Jan 11 (Reuters) – Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) has picked up a minority stake in Aleph Group Inc, the digital advertising firm said on Tuesday as it seeks to go public in the United States.

Aleph did not reveal any financial terms of the investment but said Twitter’s stake buy would help the company expand its educational tech platform.

Emerging markets-focused Aleph, which helps large digital platforms connect with advertisers and customers, counts Meta Platforms Inc (FB.O)Spotify Technology SA (SPOT.N) and Microsoft Corp-owned (MSFT.O) LinkedIn among its customers.

Despite wide-ranging supply chain disruptions that delayed products from reaching shelves and a user privacy clampdown by Apple Inc (AAPL.O) that many feared would disrupt mobile advertising, brands have continued to advertise online.

Founded in 2005 as IMS Internet Media Services,Aleph was valued at $2 billion last year after private equity firm CVC Capital Partners bought a stake worth $470 million.

Aleph had confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering in October.

Latin American fintech company MercadoLibre Inc (MELI.O) is also among Aleph’s investors, having picked up a stake worth $25 million in August last year.

Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M. and Maju Samuel

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