Perion is extending its advertising business into one of the most tangible parts of the consumer journey: the store.
The company announced the acquisition of PRN, an in-store retail media company, for up to $12 million in cash. The transaction gives Perion access to exclusive, multi-year in-store media agreements across major North American retail and healthcare environments and expands its ability to connect digital advertising with consumers at the point of purchase.
The deal comes as Perion continues to build around advertising channels outside the open web. In its second-quarter results earlier this month, the company reported that Retail Media spend had increased 60% year over year, while CTV and DOOH spend rose 56% and 45%, respectively.
With PRN, Perion is adding physical point-of-purchase media to that mix.
Bringing More Screens Into the Retail Environment
PRN operates media networks across several retail and healthcare environments, including warehouse clubs, big-box stores, pharmacy, consumer electronics and grocery.
The North American footprint includes a top warehouse club’s 4K television network across more than 750 locations, a top big-box retailer across more than 4,500 stores, and a leading national healthcare retailer across more than 2,200 stores.
Those networks give Perion additional exposure to Commerce, consumer packaged goods and Health Care, three advertising categories the company expects to benefit from the combination.
The acquisition also brings exclusive, multi-year inventory agreements with national-scale retailers. For Perion, that means its existing digital advertising infrastructure can extend into environments where consumers are physically evaluating products and preparing to make a purchase.
Physical retail accounts for more than 80% of U.S. retail commerce, according to Perion. The company sees in-store media as an increasingly important part of full-funnel advertising because it reaches consumers at a point where digital intent can translate into an actual transaction.
From CTV to the Shelf
Perion’s broader objective is to make different advertising channels work together rather than treating in-store media as an isolated product.
“The PRN acquisition checks all the boxes – Strategic, Synergetic and Profitable from day one. PRN gives us the ultimate channel before any decision to purchase,” said Tal Jacobson, CEO of Perion.
Jacobson said Perion intends to use its CTV and digital out-of-home capabilities alongside the new in-store inventory so brands can execute campaigns that extend “from the living room to the shelf.”
That would give Perion a broader execution layer covering programmatic DOOH, commerce, social, in-store retail media, CTV and direct demand relationships.
The company said it also expects to eventually bring programmatic execution to in-store retail media, while working within the rules individual retailers establish for content, frequency and the store experience.
Retailers Keep Control
The addition of programmatic capabilities does not mean Perion plans to take control of the retail environments themselves. The company said its approach is intended to allow retailers to retain control over what appears in their stores.
“Joining Perion will allow us to deliver greater overall value to our retailers and advertisers,” said Kevin Carbone, CEO of PRN.
Carbone said marketers increasingly want to plan in-store advertising like other media channels, while retailers still need authority over what runs inside their locations. Perion brings the demand and execution infrastructure, while retailers maintain that control.
That balance could be particularly important as physical retail media becomes more integrated into broader advertising campaigns.
A $12 Million Bet on a $70 Billion Market
The financial terms make the transaction relatively small compared with the market Perion is targeting. The company will pay up to $12 million in cash at closing, subject to customary purchase price adjustments, with the transaction structured on a cash-free and debt-free basis.
Perion expects PRN to contribute approximately $3 million in Adjusted EBITDA in 2027 before synergies. The acquisition is expected to be accretive from closing and is not expected to materially affect the company’s full-year 2026 outlook.
PRN will become Perion Retail Networks, and Perion said existing retailer and advertiser relationships will continue without disruption.
The acquisition expands Perion’s addressable opportunity within the more than $70 billion U.S. retail media market. But the company’s larger bet is on the role physical stores can play in an omnichannel advertising strategy.
As brands seek continuity from awareness through purchase, Perion is positioning the store as the final screen in that journey. The PRN acquisition gives it a way to put that strategy directly in front of shoppers across North America.
