EXOGROUP Takes Majority Stake in Affiliate Network TORO Advertising

Barcelona, 10th of October 2018. EXOGROUP, the digital technology enterprise business group, today announced it is now the majority shareholder in leading affiliate network: TORO Advertising. Founded by brothers José (CEO) and Javier Chacón (COO) in 2012, the investment deal ensures both founders will remain on board as shareholders and directors and will continue to run the business, which is now incorporated into the EXOGROUP family of companies. The deal which has been concluded for an undisclosed amount includes a 1 million euro first round of investment to grow the existing team, attend international tradeshows and to develop new affiliate platform technologies for TORO Advertising with EXOGROUP providing further operational support through its finance, human resources and marketing departments.

TORO Advertising is ranked at #18 in mThink.com’s Top 20 CPA Networks of 2018. It is the only Spanish company to be featured and one of two European companies to be selected. The ranking process is a survey of over 25,000 industry professionals that is carried out annually. The company generates revenues through its performance affiliate marketing platform where advertisers and affiliates can generating sales, leads and clicks across a wide range of entertainment genres and exclusive product offers in e-commerce, dating, gaming, finance, health and beauty, gambling, etc... Clients have platform tools available for reporting, tracking and optimisation of campaigns as well as campaign support from a team of experienced English, French, Dutch and Spanish speaking account managers.

The TORO Advertising network serves 2.3 billion impressions per month to more than 2,000 websites, blogs and social networks in over 90 countries in Asia, North and South America and Europe. TORO Advertising’s client list includes well known brands such as Adeslas, OCU, Sanitas, William Hill, 888, AliExpress, Dresslily and Jumia. The company currently employs 16 people in two offices: Tarragona (Spain) and Buenos Aires (Argentina).

Benjamin Fonzé, founder and CEO of EXOGROUP commented, “We welcome TORO Advertising to our group of companies to join ExoClick, EXADS, AdSecure, MobileCashout and Playfulbet. EXOGROUP has developed a wide range of skills in the digital world, with a focus on online advertising. Since 2006, through our ad network ExoClick, we have been working with thousands of affiliates and direct product owners, so the affiliate market is always something we have been very close to. We have always considered that it would be strategic to have an affiliate network as part of the group, but we didn’t want to create one from scratch and it took us over 4 years to find the right partner in TORO Advertising. They were looking for an investor to take the company to the next level, and they had exactly the profile that we were looking for.”

Fonzé continued, “EXOGROUP develops technology and grows by capitalising on the synergies that exist between each company. One element that TORO Advertising needs to go to the next level is technology. Our technology company EXADS will build a brand new cutting edge affiliate platform for TORO Advertising. We will also invest in growing their talented team who are extremely dedicated and aim to provide the best affiliate support in the industry. That passionate affiliate support is what got the company into mThink’s Top 20 list, and that was a key factor for us when deciding to invest in the company. Combining EXOGROUP and TORO Advertising, we have dedicated people, amazing support, years of experience and relationships, and the very best technology the market has to offer. We are going to invest very heavily in the company and our goal is to make TORO Advertising one of the top affiliate networks in the world.”

José Chacón, CEO and co-founder of TORO Advertising commented, “We chose EXOGROUP as our investor because there is a lot of affinity between our two companies. We are two brothers working with the two brothers of EXOGROUP. Just like ourselves, Benjamin and Adrien Fonzé are dedicated to making a difference in the online advertising industry by providing cutting edge services for the sector. Uniting with EXOGROUP allows us to better the services we currently offer, greatly improve our technology and platform tools and expand our market share. In 2019 our objectives are to grow our market presence in North America and some European countries and in the long term enter into the Chinese market.”

ENDS
For further press information press@exogroup.com

Notes to editors
EXOGROUP builds and invests in innovative tech projects, maximizing the synergies between each business enterprise. Currently, there are six companies inside EXOGROUP monetising the digital media space:

ExoClick (launched 2006) is the innovative ad company, a programmatic ad exchange and the world's 4th largest ad network which serves +11 billion daily ad impressions globally.
EXADS (launched 2013) is a licensed SaaS solution which powers large ad networks, affiliate programs and high traffic websites. EXADS provides the technology for ExoClick's leading ad network platform.
AdSecure (launched 2017) is an ad verification technology used by ad networks, ad operations teams and publishers to ensure safe, compliant and malware-free ad delivery.
MobileCashout (launched 2012) monetises mobile content to consumers by developing in-house engineered mobile sites and licensed apps with integrated localized carrier billing. MobileCashout acquired Spanish mobile tech company Espabit in 2014.
Playfulbet (launched 2012, acquired by EXOGROUP 2018) is a free to play social gaming sports platform aimed at consumers aged 18-35 years old.
TORO Advertising (launched 2012, incorporated into EXOGROUP 2018) is a leading affiliate network ranked at #18 in mThink.com’s Top 20 CPA Networks of 2018.