Jordan Bevan
Marketing and advertising company Stagwell has acquired Freestar, a publisher monetization platform, as part of its strategy to expand its owned media operations and strengthen its position in programmatic advertising. The acquisition will bring Freestar’s advertising technology, publisher relationships and audience data into Stagwell’s Media and Commerce business.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 2015, Freestar provides advertising monetization technology and managed services to digital publishers across news, gaming, entertainment and other categories. The company works with more than 1,000 publishers, including Boston Globe Media, Fortune Media, the Associated Press and Enthusiast Gaming. Freestar processes approximately 50 billion advertising requests per month, giving Stagwell access to a substantial network of digital advertising inventory and audience data.
The acquisition will integrate Freestar’s technology with Stagwell’s existing advertising infrastructure, including its AI Media Machine, an agentic operating system designed to support automated media planning and buying. Stagwell plans to use Freestar’s publisher network to improve audience intelligence, streamline programmatic advertising transactions and reduce the number of intermediaries involved in connecting advertisers with publishers. The integration is also expected to support the company’s efforts to develop AI-driven advertising decisioning and campaign activation capabilities.
Freestar operates pubOS, a proprietary publisher operating system that combines advertising technology, monetization services and integrations with advertising partners. Through the platform, publishers can manage their advertising inventory, optimize revenue and access demand from multiple buying sources. Stagwell intends to continue investing in pubOS while connecting Freestar’s publisher customers with additional advertising demand and technology available across its network.
Ben Berentson, CEO of Stagwell’s Owned Media division, said that the company is acquiring Freestar’s technology, services and publisher relationships rather than the publishers themselves. He said the transaction would allow Stagwell to build more detailed audience segments across participating publisher properties and support broader media buying strategies. However, advertisers will retain the ability to decide whether Freestar inventory is included in their campaigns.
Freestar will continue operating under its existing brand, with CEO Kurt Donnell and the company’s leadership team remaining in place. Stagwell also plans to retain Freestar’s employees, while maintaining its current publisher services and relationships with demand-side platforms, supply-side platforms and other advertising technology partners. Donnell told AdExchanger that the acquisition would provide additional resources for Freestar’s product development without requiring immediate changes to how publishers use its services.
The transaction also supports Stagwell’s Future of News initiative, launched in 2024 to encourage advertising investment in news publishers. Freestar’s relationships with organizations including the Associated Press, Reuters, Fortune and The Boston Globe could expand the initiative’s access to publisher inventory. Beyond news, Stagwell expects to work with Freestar clients in gaming, sports and other digital content categories, including Sports Reference, Enthusiast Gaming and SignUpGenius.
The acquisition comes as advertising holding companies increasingly invest in technology that connects media buying with publisher monetization. By bringing Freestar’s supply-side capabilities into its operations, Stagwell will gain more direct access to publisher inventory and advertising data while expanding its managed services business. The arrangement also raises questions about transparency when advertising companies participate in both buying and selling media, particularly as automated systems take on a larger role in programmatic transactions.
Stagwell has not disclosed financial projections associated with the acquisition or specified when Freestar’s technology will be fully integrated into its advertising platforms. Needham & Company served as Freestar’s financial advisor on the completed transaction.
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