Monday, October 26th, 2026 – 10:30 am

Agency holding company Stagwell is acquiring publisher monetization network Freestar, it announced Monday.

The deal is the latest sign that media buyers are moving closer to publishers to shorten supply paths and get at the audience data they need to train AI agents.

The companies did not disclose the price, but the deal has closed. Needham & Company advised Freestar on the transaction.

Stagwell is acquiring Freestar’s product offering and services, said Ben Berentson, CEO of Owned Media, the holdco’s division for its owned publishing and media properties.

Stagwell’s global media business can now directly draw on inventory and data from Freestar’s network of more than 1,000 publishers, which serve nearly a billion ad requests a day.…