Stagwell acquires Freestar, a publisher advertising services company
Stagwell has acquired Scottsdale-based Freestar, which runs the pubOS publisher platform for digital media brands.
Stagwell, the NASDAQ-listed marketing network, announced it has acquired Freestar, a services and monetization partner to digital media brands including Boston Globe Media, Fortune Media, Legacy and Enthusiast Gaming. Freestar was founded in 2015 by David Freedman.
Stagwell said the deal strengthens its Owned Media offering and gives Freestar customers more direct access to advertisers and tools. Freestar will integrate with Stagwell's Media and Commerce ecosystem and use the Stagwell AI Media Machine for agentic decisioning, according to the companies.
Needham & Company served as exclusive financial advisor to Freestar.
Deal facts
- Target
- Freestar
- Business
- Publisher services and monetization platform offering pubOS, a publisher operating system for digital media brands
- Buyer
- Stagwell
- Deal type
- Strategic
- Sector
- Technology, Ad tech
- Headquarters
- Scottsdale, AZ
- Status
- Completed
- Announced
- Friday, July 31, 2026
Sources
- ACCESS NewswireOct 26, 2026
- mediapost.comJul 31, 2026
Written by Buyout Desk from the sources above. Spotted an error? Email corrections@buyoutdesk.com.