Filed by The Rubicon Project, Inc.
Pursuant to Rule 425
under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended
and deemed filed pursuant to Rule 14a-12
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
Subject Company: Telaria, Inc.
(Commission File No. 001-35982)
The following communication is being filed in connection with the proposed strategic combination between The Rubicon Project, Inc. (“Rubicon Project”) and Telaria, Inc. (“Telaria”):
The following is an excerpt from the Q&A portion of Rubicon Project’s fourth quarter 2019 earnings conference call held on February 26, 2020.
Q: We’ve seen more consolidation in the [CTV] space. I mean, Pluto taken out last year and then, I guess, Xumo, in the last day or two, with some other rumors like Tubi out there. So, just kind of wondering, as that consolidates…what is your take on that? And, in a post-merger world, what do you see as the opportunity as those providers consolidate?
A (Michael Barrett, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rubicon Project): Great question. I think that, obviously, we’ll let Telaria speak to their direct experiences, but I think it’s net-net a very positive for the whole industry, including our slice of it. It shows that it’s only growing in appeal to media owners. You will note that the recent acquisitions are all ad-supported, with no plans to deprecate the ad supporting and turn it into a subscription. So AVOD seems to be the particular flavor of the day, so that bodes well for us. I think in some instances, it may be bought by someone that is attempting to do a walled garden. In others, it’s an immediate opportunity plus-plus, because it will be more subscribers, more traffic. Net-net, it’s going to be positive because…it’s really hard to create a walled garden. You’d have to have a monopoly on the media type. Search is a great example. Google had a monopoly. Facebook’s a great example; they had a monopoly on social. No one has a monopoly on video, and I really do think that the walled garden attempts to build their own mote and not allow external demand to come in will be short-lived in the marketplace. So, I think this is all just positive for our thesis and our post-merger opportunities.
Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This document may contain forward-looking statements, including statements based upon or relating to Rubicon Project’s and Telaria’s expectations, assumptions, estimates, and projections. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “objective,” “intend,” “should,” “could,” “can,” “would,” “expect,” “believe,” “design,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “plan” or the negative of these terms, and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements concerning anticipated financial performance, including, without limitation, revenue, advertising spend, non-GAAP loss per share, profitability, net income (loss), Adjusted EBITDA, earnings per share, and cash flow; strategic objectives, including focus on header bidding, mobile, video, Demand Manager, and private marketplace opportunities; investments in Rubicon Project’s or Telaria’s business; development of Rubicon Project’s or Telaria’s technology; introduction of new offerings; the impact of transparency initiatives Rubicon Project or Telaria may undertake; the impact of Rubicon Project’s or Telaria’s traffic shaping technology on their businesses; the effects of cost reduction initiatives; scope and duration of client relationships; the fees Rubicon Project or Telaria may charge in the future; business mix and expansion of Rubicon Project’s or Telaria’s mobile, video and private marketplace offerings; sales growth; client utilization of Rubicon Project’s or Telaria’s offerings; Rubicon Project’s or Telaria’s competitive differentiation; Rubicon Project’s or Telaria’s market share and leadership position in the industry; market conditions, trends, and opportunities; user reach; certain statements regarding future operational performance measures including ad requests, fill rate, paid impressions, average CPM, take rate, and advertising spend; benefits from supply path optimization; anticipated benefits of the merger, including estimated synergies and cost savings resulting from the merger; the expected timing of completion of the merger; estimated costs associated with such transactions; and other statements that are not historical facts. These statements are not guarantees of future performance; they reflect Rubicon Project’s and Telaria’s current views with respect to future events and are based on assumptions and estimates and subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from expectations or results projected or implied by forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to: occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement or the failure to satisfy the closing conditions; the possibility that the consummation of the proposed transactions is delayed or does not occur, including the failure of the parties’ stockholders to approve the proposed transactions; uncertainty as to whether the parties will be able to complete the merger on the terms set forth in the Merger Agreement; uncertainty regarding the timing of the receipt of required regulatory approvals for the merger and the possibility that the parties may be required to accept conditions that could reduce or eliminate the anticipated benefits of the merger as a condition to obtaining regulatory approvals or that the required regulatory approvals might not be obtained at all; the outcome of any legal proceedings that have been or may be instituted against the parties or others following announcement of the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement; challenges, disruptions and costs of closing, integrating and achieving anticipated synergies, or that such synergies will take longer to realize than expected; risks that the merger and other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement disrupt current plans and operations that may harm the parties’ businesses; the amount of any costs, fees, expenses, impairments and charges related to the merger; uncertainty as to the effects of the announcement or pendency of the merger on the market price of the parties’ respective common stock and/or on their respective financial performance; uncertainty as to the long-term value of Rubicon Project’s and Telaria’s common stock; the business, economic and political conditions in the markets in which Rubicon Project and Telaria operate; Rubicon Project’s and Telaria’s ability to continue to grow and to manage their growth effectively; Rubicon Project’s and Telaria’s ability to develop innovative new technologies and remain market leaders; the effect on the advertising market and Rubicon Project’s and Telaria’s businesses from difficult economic conditions or uncertainty; the freedom of buyers and sellers to direct their spending and inventory to competing sources of inventory and demand; Rubicon Project’s and Telaria’s ability to adapt effectively to shifts in digital advertising; the effects, including loss of market share, of increased competition in Rubicon Project’s and Telaria’s markets and increasing concentration of advertising spending, including mobile spending, in a small number of very large competitors; the effects of consolidation in the ad tech industry; acts of competitors and other third parties that can adversely affect Rubicon Project’s and Telaria’s businesses; Rubicon Project’s and Telaria’s ability to differentiate their offerings and compete effectively in a market trending increasingly toward commodification, transparency, and disintermediation; potential adverse effects of malicious activity such as fraudulent inventory and malware; costs associated with defending intellectual property infringement and other claims; Rubicon Project’s and Telaria’s ability to attract and retain qualified employees and key personnel; and Rubicon Project’s and Telaria’s ability to comply with, and the effect on their businesses of, evolving legal standards and regulations, particularly concerning data protection and consumer privacy and evolving labor standards.
The foregoing review of important factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included herein and elsewhere, including the risk factors included in Rubicon Project’s and Telaria’s most recent reports on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q, Form 8 K and other documents on file with the SEC. These forward-looking statements represent estimates and assumptions only as of the date made. Unless required by federal securities laws, Rubicon Project and Telaria assume no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated, to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the statements are made. Given these uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Investors should read this document with the understanding that Rubicon Project’s and Telaria’s actual future results may be materially different from what Rubicon Project and Telaria expect. Rubicon Project and Telaria qualify all of their forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.
Additional Information and Where to Find It
On February 13, 2020, Rubicon Project filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) a registration statement on Form S-4, which includes a joint proxy statement/prospectus. The joint proxy statement/prospectus contains important information about the proposed transaction and related matters. Investors and security holders of Telaria and Rubicon Project are urged to carefully read the entire joint proxy statement/prospectus (and any amendments thereto) and other filings made in connection therewith because such documents will contain important information about the proposed business combination. Telaria and Rubicon Project commenced the mailing of the joint proxy statement/prospectus to stockholders of Telaria and Rubicon Project on or about February 13, 2020.
Investors and security holders will be able to obtain copies of the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed by Rubicon Project and Telaria, without charge, through the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of documents filed with the SEC by Telaria will be made available free of charge on Telaria’s website at https://telaria.com/ under the link “Investor Relations” and then under the heading “SEC Filings.” Copies of documents filed with the SEC by Rubicon Project will be made available free of charge on Rubicon Project’s website at https://rubiconproject.com/ under the link “Investor” and then under the heading “Financials and Filings” and the subheading “SEC Filings.”
Participants in the Solicitation
Rubicon Project and Telaria and their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the holders of Rubicon Project common stock and Telaria common stock in respect of the proposed transaction. Information about Rubicon Project’s directors and executive officers is set forth in Rubicon Project’s Form 10-K for the year ended 2018, the proxy statement for Rubicon Project’s 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and the joint proxy statement/prospectus, which were filed with the SEC on February 27, 2019, April 5, 2019 and February 13, 2020, respectively. Information about Telaria’s directors and executive officers is set forth in Telaria’s Form 10-K for the year ended 2018, the proxy statement for Telaria’s 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and the joint proxy statement/prospectus, which were filed with the SEC on March 19, 2019, April 24, 2019 and February 13, 2020, respectively. Additional information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests, through securities holdings or otherwise, is contained in the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials to be filed with the SEC regarding the proposed merger when they become available. Investors should read the joint proxy statement/prospectus carefully before making any voting or investment decisions.
No Offer or Solicitation
This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.