SEC Form DEF 14A filed by Taboola.com Ltd.

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

SCHEDULE 14A

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of

the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No. )

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☒ Definitive Proxy Statement

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Taboola.com Ltd.

 

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)

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Dear Shareholder:

We cordially invite you to the 2024 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of Taboola.com Ltd. to be held on May 28, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. (Eastern time) / 4:00 p.m. (Israel time) online via live audio webcast at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/TBLA2024.

At the annual meeting, shareholders will be asked to consider and vote on the matters listed in the enclosed Notice of Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. Our Board of Directors unanimously recommends that you vote FOR each of the proposals listed in the Notice.

Only shareholders of record at the close of business on April 19, 2024 (the “Record Date”) are entitled to notice of and to vote at the annual meeting.

Whether or not you plan to attend the annual meeting, it is important that your Ordinary shares be represented and voted at the annual meeting. Accordingly, after reading the enclosed Notice of Annual General Meeting of Shareholders and the accompanying Proxy Statement, please sign, date and mail the enclosed Proxy Card in the envelope provided or vote by telephone or over the Internet in accordance with the instructions on your Proxy Card.

We look forward to your participation in the annual meeting.

Sincerely,

Zvi Limon

TABOOLA.COM LTD.

16 Madison Square West, 7th Floor

New York, NY 10010

Notice of 2024 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders

To be Held on May 28, 2024

AT THE ANNUAL MEETING, YOU WILL BE ASKED:

In addition, shareholders will be requested to consider at the annual meeting the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023.

We know of no other matters to be submitted at the annual meeting other than as specified herein. If any other business is properly come before the annual meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof, the persons named as proxies may vote in respect thereof in accordance with their best judgment and the recommendation of the Board.

Meeting Admission

If you wish to attend the annual meeting, which is exclusively being held virtually, and you are a registered shareholder of shares held directly at our transfer agent, please enter the 16-digit control number located on the notice mailed to you beginning on April 23, 2024, on your proxy card at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/TBLA2024.

If your shares are held in “street name” through a broker, bank or other nominee, by following the voting instructions that accompanied your proxy materials.

A list of our registered holders as of the close of business on the Record Date will be made available to shareholders during the meeting at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/TBLA2024. To access the list of registered holders, which will become available on or about May 1, 2024, and throughout the meeting, shareholders should email Taboola Investor Relations at [email protected].

Voting by Proxy

Please submit a proxy card if you are a registered shareholder of shares held directly at our transfer agent or, for shares held in “street name” through a broker, bank or other nominee, a voting instruction form, as soon as possible, so your shares can be voted at the meeting. You may submit your proxy card or voting instruction form by mail. If you are a registered shareholder, you may also vote electronically by telephone or over the Internet by following the instructions included with your proxy card.

If your shares are held in “street name,” you will receive instructions for the voting of your shares from your broker, bank or other nominee, which may permit telephone or Internet voting. Follow the instructions on the voting instruction form that you receive from your broker, bank or other nominee to ensure that your shares are properly voted at the annual meeting.

By Order of the Board of Directors,

Zvi Limon

Table of Contents

Proxy Statement

Summary Information

The following summary provides general information about Taboola.com Ltd., referred to as Taboola or the Company, and highlights information contained elsewhere in this proxy statement. This summary does not contain all of the information you should consider when deciding how to vote your shares. For further and more detailed information on the matters referenced below, prior to casting your vote, please carefully review the entire proxy statement and our 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K (“2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K”). Our 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K accompanies this proxy statement and was previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. In this proxy statement, we reference various information and materials available on our corporate website. We have included our website address in this proxy statement as an inactive textual reference only. Information on our website is not incorporated by reference in this proxy statement.

Forward-Looking Statements

This proxy statement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of United States securities laws. These statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by such forward-looking terminology as “goal,” “believe,” “will,” “may,” “plan,” “expect,” “intend,” “priority,” “outlook,” “guidance,” “objective,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “seek,” “trend,” “target” and “strategy,” or similar statements or variations of such terms. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, are inherently uncertain, are based on current assumptions that are difficult to predict and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed in those statements. Important factors that may affect future results and outcomes include but are not limited to those set forth in our 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K and our subsequent SEC filings. We encourage investors to read those filings, particularly the sections on risk factors, for additional information with respect to any forward-looking statements and prior to making any voting or investment decision. The forward-looking statements contained in this proxy statement should not be relied on as representing our expectations or beliefs as of any time subsequent to the time this proxy statement is first filed with the SEC, and we do not undertake efforts to revise those forward-looking statements to reflect events after that time except as may be required by law.

Voting Matters and Recommendations

The Board of Directors, or Board, unanimously recommends shareholders vote FOR each of the below Proposals.

In addition, shareholders will be requested to consider at Taboola.com Ltd.’s, or the Company or Taboola, 2024 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, or Annual Meeting, the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023.

We know of no other matters to be submitted at the Annual Meeting other than as specified herein. If any other business properly comes before the Annual Meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof, the persons named as proxies may vote in respect thereof in accordance with their best judgment and recommendation of the Board.

About Taboola

Taboola is a technology company that powers recommendations across the Open Web with an artificial intelligence, or AI-based, algorithmic engine that we have developed since the Company began operations in 2007. Taboola has also expanded more directly into e-Commerce, allowing its partners with digital properties the ability to use its platforms to display advertising suited to the audiences of those partners’ websites or other digital services.

We think of ourselves as a search engine, but in reverse — instead of expecting people to search for information, we recommend information to people or enable our partners to use our technology. You’ve seen us before: we partner with websites, devices and mobile apps, which we collectively refer to as digital properties, to recommend editorial content and advertisements on the Open Web, outside of the closed ecosystems of the walled gardens such as Facebook, Google and Amazon.

Digital properties use our technology platforms to achieve their business goals, such as driving new audiences to their sites and apps, or increasing engagement on site — and we don’t charge them for these services. We also provide a meaningful monetization opportunity to digital properties by surfacing paid recommendations by advertisers. Unlike walled gardens, we are a business-to-business, or B2B, company with no competing consumer interests. We only interact with consumers through our partners’ digital properties, hence we do not compete with our partners for user attention. Our motivations are aligned. When our partners win, we win and we grow together.

We empower advertisers, merchants and affiliate networks, which we individually and collectively refer to as advertisers, to leverage our proprietary AI-powered recommendation platform to reach targeted audiences utilizing effective, native ad formats across digital properties. We generate revenues primarily when people (consumers) click on, purchase from or, in some cases, view the ads that appear within our partners’ digital experiences via our recommendation platform. Advertisers pay us for those clicks, purchases or impressions, and we share the resulting revenue with the digital properties who display those ads and generate those clicks and downstream consumer actions.

Our powerful recommendation platform was built to address a technology challenge of significant complexity: predicting which recommendations users would be interested in, without explicit intent data or social media profiles. Search advertising platforms have access, at a minimum, to users’ search queries which indicate intent, while social media advertising platforms have access to rich personal profiles created by users. In contrast, we base our recommendations on an extensive dataset of context and user behavior derived from the intersection of thousands of digital properties and millions of recommended items, including ads and editorial content.

2023 Business Overview

2023 Accomplishments and Growth Initiatives

2023 was an investment year for Taboola’s growth. We successfully launched Maximize Conversions, our first offering in our AI-bidding technology suite that should significantly improve advertiser success and yield on our platform; successfully onboarded Yahoo’s global native supply onto the Taboola network; and launched technology that advances our eCommerce, Taboola News and Header Bidder offerings.

In 2023, we also returned approximately $55 million of capital to our shareholders as part of our publicly announced share buyback program.

Additional Developments and Growth Initiatives

Notable new and renewed publisher wins in 2023 included Gannett, Time, Nexstar Media, Barstool Sports, G/O Media, Cambium Media, Futura, Disney, Unidad Editorial, BBC, One India, The Print, Bangkok Post, A360 Media, Postmedia, NDTV, and Cox Media.

Taboola News had a spectacular growth year in 2023, where revenue grew to over $100 million. In Q3, we also rolled out a new partnership with realme, the world’s fastest-growing smartphone brand. Under the partnership, realme is using Taboola News to power recommendations within all devices for audiences in Europe, and Southeast Asia. In 2023, we introduced new features to

our Generative AI technology, called Taboola Generative AI Admaker, which allows advertisers to edit existing creatives automatically, instead of just creating images from scratch. As of now, around 30% of ad creatives from self service advertisers are made with our Generative AI.

Consolidated Financial Performance

(dollars in millions)

Board of Directors

The table below presents information on each of the Class III nominees for director of the Company and each of the continuing directors who are not being voted on at the Annual Meeting. Each of the nominees is a current director of the Company and the Company believes each possesses the qualifications to serve as a member of our Board. The information set forth below is as of March 31, 2024.

Corporate Governance Summary

Here is a summary of the key governance practices and policies that our Board believes help advance our goals and protect the interests of our shareholders, including:

Overview of 2023 Executive Compensation Program

Our executive compensation program is designed to recruit, motivate and retain highly qualified executive officers, reward strong Company performance and align the long-term interests of our executive officers with those of our shareholders. We do this by offering competitive compensation that is reflective of market practices and comprised of elements that promote strong short- and long-term performance. The table below offers a snapshot of the key components of our executive compensation program and the rationale underlying each element.

Environmental, Social and Governance

Taboola believes social responsibility, good governance, minding its environmental footprint and evolving its culture to powerfully support its strategies is critical to our long-term success. We firmly believe in the principles of sound governance and helping our clients succeed. We are dedicated to maintaining a global and inclusive workplace where employees feel valued and engaged. We believe we have a responsibility to enrich our communities, both in the way we carry out our operations and in the platform and services we offer. As part of these efforts, the Nominating and Governance Committee oversees our strategies, policies, and practices relating to environmental, social and governance matters.

Additional Voting Information

Quorum: At the Annual Meeting, the presence in person or by proxy of two or more shareholders holding not less than thirty-three and one-third percent (33¹∕3%) of the voting power of the shares issued and outstanding and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting is required for the Annual Meeting to proceed. Abstentions and broker non-votes will qualify for determining whether there is a quorum.

Proposal 1: Re-election of Three Class III Directors. Each nominee for director is elected by a majority of the votes cast. This means that the number of votes cast “FOR” a director nominee must exceed the number of votes cast “AGAINST” the nominee. Any nominee who receives more votes cast “FOR” their election than “AGAINST” will be elected as a Class III director to serve until the 2027 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders and until their respective successors are duly elected and qualified. Abstentions and broker non-votes will have no effect on the outcome of this proposal.

Proposal 2: Advisory Approval on Executive Compensation. The approval, on an advisory basis, of the compensation of our NEOs in this Proxy Statement requires the “FOR” vote of a majority of the voting power of the shares present in person or represented by proxy entitled to vote and voting on such proposal. Abstentions and broker non-votes will have no effect on the outcome of this proposal.

Proposal 3: Approval of an Increase to Non-Employee Director Compensation and Approval and Ratification of Certain Director Expenses. The approval of the increase to non-employee director compensation and approval and ratification of certain director expenses in this Proxy Statement requires the “FOR” vote of a majority of the voting power of the shares present in person or represented by proxy entitled to vote and voting on such proposal. Abstentions and broker non-votes will have no effect on the outcome of this proposal.

Proposal 4: Re-Appointment of Independent Auditors. The ratification of the appointment of Kost, Forer, Gabbay & Kasierer, a member of Ernst & Young Global, as our independent registered public accounting firm requires the “FOR’’ vote of a majority of the voting power of the shares present in person or represented by proxy entitled to vote and voting on such proposal. Abstentions and broker non-votes will have no effect on the outcome of this proposal.

If your shares are held by a broker, you must instruct your broker how to vote for Proposals 1, 2 and 3. If you have not instructed the broker how to vote, your shares will not be voted with respect to Proposals 1, 2 and 3, however, your broker does have the discretionary authority to vote your shares on Proposal 4.

Important Notice Regarding Proxy Materials for the Annual Meeting to be held on

May 28, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) / 4:00 p.m. (Israel Time)

via the internet at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/TBLA2024

 

The proxy statement and annual report to shareholders are available at:

www.proxyvote.com

Corporate Governance at Taboola

OVERVIEW

Taboola is committed to effective corporate governance and independent oversight by our Board. Our programs and policies are informed by engagement with our shareholders as well as a guiding principle that the Board is accountable for representing the best interests of our shareholders, accomplished primarily through independence, diversity of experience and engagement with shareholders and other key constituents. The information set forth below is as of March 31, 2024.

Board Composition Highlights

 

SHAREHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

We believe that effective corporate governance includes regular, constructive conversations with our shareholders, and we value our shareholders’ continued feedback and opinions. All feedback is reviewed and considered as appropriate for the Company’s strategy, business growth and maturity stage. We are committed to maintaining an active dialogue to understand the priorities and concerns of our shareholders on a variety of topics, including business strategy, executive compensation and corporate governance. Maintaining an active dialogue with our shareholders is consistent with our corporate values of open communication and accountability and we intend to continue these efforts in the future.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS COMPOSITION

The Nominating and Governance Committee, with input from the Board, is responsible for nominating directors for election each year and evaluating the need for new director candidates as appropriate. This assessment includes an evaluation of each director nominee’s skills and experience, and independence, as well as consideration of diverse perspectives and experiences, and other characteristics, such as race/ethnicity, gender and nationality, in the context of the needs of the Board.

Director Independence

Our Board has undertaken a review of the independence of each director who served during 2023. Based on information provided by each non-employee director concerning their background, employment and affiliations, our Board determined that all of our non-employee directors (except for Monica Mijaleski) meet the categorical standards for independence under the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and satisfy the qualifications for independence under the Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq”) listing standards.

In making these determinations, our Board considered the current and prior relationships that each non-employee director has with our Company and all other facts and circumstances our Board deemed relevant in determining their independence, including the beneficial ownership of Taboola securities by each such non-employee director or affiliated entities, and their involvement in any transactions described under the heading “Related Party Transactions.”

Director Nominee Qualifications, Diversity and Skills

We believe that our Board should have a variety of qualifications, skill sets and experience that, when taken as a whole, best serve the Company and our shareholders. We recognize the importance of diversity with regard to the composition of the Board and seek to have a Board that consists of members with a diversity of experience, perspectives and viewpoints, including diversity with respect to gender, race, ethnicity and nationality.

Identifying Director Nominees

In connection with nominating directors for election each year and evaluating the need for new director candidates as appropriate, including skill sets, diversity and specific business background, the Nominating and Governance Committee, with input from the entire Board and management, focuses on the Board’s capabilities and functioning as a whole. The Board expects all directors and director nominees to possess the following attributes or characteristics:

DIVERSITY OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Board Diversity Matrix (as of December 31, 2023)

To see our Board Diversity Matrix as of December 31, 2022, please see our proxy statement filed with the SEC on April 25, 2023.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE

Our Board periodically evaluates our leadership structure and combination or separation of the Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Board roles is driven by our needs at any point in time. As a result, no policy exists requiring combination or separation of these leadership roles and our governing documents do not mandate a particular structure. This approach has allowed our Board the flexibility to establish the most appropriate structure for the Board at any given time.

At this time, our Board believes that having an independent Chair provides strong independent leadership and oversight for our Company and our Board. The separation of the Chair and CEO positions allows our independent Chair to focus on the governance of our Board, Board meeting agenda planning, the recruitment of new directors and Board committee responsibilities. Furthermore, this structure allows our CEO to focus his attention on the business and execution of the Company’s strategy. The Company believes that the Board’s current leadership structure supports the risk oversight function of the Board.

The chair of our Nominating and Governance Committee oversees the annual Board and Committee self-evaluation process. In 2023, the Nominating and Governance Committee chair conducted one-on-one meetings with each director and discussed a variety of Board and committee-specific topics, including the effectiveness of the Board and its committees and their respective chairpersons, the effectiveness of the Board and committee meetings and their relationships with management, the appropriateness of their roles and responsibilities, and areas for possible improvement. The responses were reviewed, compiled and discussed by the directors at the board level. The Nominating and Governance Committee is responsible for establishing the Board and committee evaluation process each year and may determine to use an independent third-party evaluation process from time to time in the future.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ ROLE IN RISK OVERSIGHT

Our Board oversees the risk management activities designed and implemented by our management team and also considers specific risk topics, including risks associated with our strategic initiatives, cybersecurity, business plans and capital structure. The Board executes its oversight responsibilities both directly and through its committees. Our management, including our executive officers, is primarily responsible for managing the risks associated with the operation and business of the Company and reports periodically to the Board and the Audit Committee on risk management activities, including cybersecurity. Our Board has delegated to the Audit Committee oversight of its risk management process, and our other Board committees also consider risks related to the performance of their respective committee responsibilities. All committees report to the Board regularly and as frequently as appropriate, including when a matter rises to the level of a material or enterprise risk.

MEETINGS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

During 2023, the Board held 7 meetings, and each of the incumbent directors attended at least 75% of the total of all meetings of the Board and committees on which the director served during his or her service as a director during the year.

Although Taboola does not have a formal policy regarding attendance of directors at the annual meeting of shareholders, all directors are encouraged to attend. Mr. Singolda and Mses. Bigley, Clarizio and Mijaleski attended the 2023 annual meeting of shareholders.

COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board has the following committees to assist it in carrying out its responsibilities, and each operates under a written charter, a copy of which is available under the “Corporate Governance” section in the “Investor Relations” portion of our website at www.taboola.com. The charter for each committee, which establishes its roles and responsibilities and governs its procedures, is to be reviewed annually with any changes subject to Board approval.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE GUIDELINES AND CODE OF CONDUCT

We have adopted Corporate Governance Guidelines that address items such as the qualifications and responsibilities of our directors and director nominees, conflicts of interest, succession planning, committee composition, director term limits, and other important governance policies and principles.

Additionally, we have adopted a Code of Conduct that applies to all our employees, officers and directors. Our Code of Conduct addresses, among other things, competition and fair dealing, gifts and entertainment, conflicts of interest, international business laws, financial matters and external reporting, company assets, confidentiality and corporate opportunity requirements and the process for reporting violations of the Code of Conduct.

The Corporate Governance Guidelines and Code of Conduct are available under the “Corporate Governance” section in the “Investor Relations” portion of our website at www.taboola.com.

COMMUNICATION WITH THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Shareholders and interested parties who wish to contact the Board or the Chairman should address correspondence to the Chairman in care of the Corporate Secretary. The Corporate Secretary will review and forward correspondence to the Chairman or the appropriate person or persons for response.

Chairman of Taboola.com Ltd.

c/o Office of the Corporate Secretary

16 Madison Square West, 7th Floor

New York, NY 10010

NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTOR COMPENSATION

Members of the Board who are not employees are eligible for compensation under our Compensation Policy for Executive Officers and Directors, or the Compensation Policy. The Compensation Policy was adopted by the Board, and approved by shareholders, with the objective of assembling a high-performing Board that could best guide the Company in achieving its strategic and operational goals, and promoting long-term shareholder value. The Compensation Policy is periodically reviewed under the combined leadership of the Compensation Committee and Board to ensure that it continues to satisfy the Board’s overall compensation objectives and philosophy. The Compensation Committee and Board are aided in their review by an independent compensation consultant, Pearl Meyer, which provides compensation benchmarking and consultation services.

For 2023, each of the Company’s non-employee directors received the following cash compensation, which is paid in quarterly installments: (i) annual Board retainer of $35,000 (or $110,000 for the chairperson); (ii) $10,000 per membership of the Audit Committee (or $20,000 for the chairperson); (iii) $7,500 per membership of the Compensation Committee (or $15,000 for the chairperson); (iv) and $3,000 per membership of the Nominating and Governance Committee or any other Board Committee (or $7,500 for the chairperson).

In addition, upon election or appointment, non-employee directors will be granted a restricted share unit award under our equity incentive plan at a value of $360,000, which will vest over a period of one year, and thereafter, provided the director is still in office, an annual restricted share unit award of $180,000, which will vest over a period of one year.

Director Share Ownership Guidelines

To further align the interests of our non-employee directors with the Company’s shareholders, the Board adopted and the shareholders approved share ownership guidelines, or Director Guidelines, for our non-employee directors. Pursuant to the Director Guidelines, all non-employee directors are expected to own shares in the Company with an aggregate value equal to four times their annual cash Board retainer fee, excluding any additional cash retainers for committee service on the latter of the fourth anniversary of: (i) the adoption of the Director Guidelines or (ii) the non-employee director's initial election to the Board. The following equity holdings qualify toward satisfaction of the Director Guidelines:

Unexercised options to purchase Ordinary shares of the Company do not count toward the Guidelines.

The level of ownership is calculated on March 27, 2024, the same date used for the Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management Table below, and by reference to the closing price of our Ordinary shares on Nasdaq on that date. As of March 27, 2024, each non-employee director exceeded their Director Guidelines of four times their annual cash Board retainer fee.

2023 Director Compensation

The following table summarizes compensation paid to our non-employee directors during the year ended December 31, 2023. Directors who are also our employees receive no additional compensation for their service as a director. During the year ended December 31, 2023, Mr. Singolda, Taboola’s Founder and CEO, was an employee. Mr. Singolda’s compensation is discussed in the “Executive Compensation” section beginning on page 21.

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Related Party Transaction Policy

Our policy is that any transactions with related parties must be on terms that, on the whole, are no less favorable to Taboola than those that are available from unaffiliated third parties.

The Companies Law requires that an office holder promptly disclose to the board of directors any personal interest and all related material information known to such office holder concerning any existing or proposed transaction with the company. A personal interest includes an interest of any person in an act or transaction of a company, including a personal interest of one’s relative or of a corporate body in which such person or a relative of such person is a 5% or greater shareholder, director, or general manager or in which such person has the right to appoint at least one director or the general manager, but excluding a personal interest stemming solely from one’s ownership of shares in the company. A personal interest includes the personal interest of a person for whom the office holder holds a voting proxy or the personal interest of the office holder with respect to the officer holder’s vote on behalf of a person for whom he or she holds a proxy even if such shareholder has no personal interest in the matter.

If it is determined that an office holder has a personal interest in a non-extraordinary transaction (meaning any transaction that is in the ordinary course of business, on market terms or that is not likely to have a material impact on the company’s profitability, assets

or liabilities), approval by the board of directors is required for the transaction unless the company’s articles of association provide for a different method of approval. Any such transaction that is adverse to the company’s interests may not be approved by the board of directors.

Approval first by the company’s audit committee and subsequently by the board of directors is required for an extraordinary transaction (meaning any transaction that is not in the ordinary course of business, not on market terms or that is likely to have a material impact on the company’s profitability, assets or liabilities) in which an office holder has a personal interest.

A director and any other office holder who has a personal interest in a transaction which is considered at a meeting of the board of directors or the audit committee may generally (unless it is with respect to a transaction which is not an extraordinary transaction) not be present at such a meeting or vote on that matter unless a majority of the directors or members of the audit committee, as applicable, have a personal interest in the matter. If a majority of the members of the audit committee or the board of directors have a personal interest in the matter, then all of the directors may participate in deliberations of the audit committee or board of directors, as applicable, with respect to such transaction and vote on the approval thereof and, in such case, shareholder approval is also required.

Under the Companies Law, in addition to the approval of the Board, the approval of the Audit Committee or the Compensation Committee (as the case may be), and in some cases, the shareholders of the Company is required to effect specified actions and transactions with office holders and controlling shareholders and their relatives, or in which they have a personal interest. The term “controlling shareholder” means any shareholder with the ability to direct the activities of the company, other than by virtue of being an office holder. A shareholder is presumed to be a controlling shareholder if the shareholder holds 50% or more of the voting rights in a company or has the right to appoint 50% or more of the directors of the company or its chief executive officer. For the purpose of approving transactions with controlling shareholders, the term “controlling shareholder” also includes any shareholder that holds 25% or more of the voting rights of the company if no other shareholder holds more than 50% of the voting rights in the company. For purposes of determining the holding percentage stated above, two or more shareholders who have a personal interest in a transaction that is brought for the company’s approval are deemed as joint holders.

As of the date of this Proxy Statement, we do not have a controlling shareholder as defined under the Companies Law.

Related Party Transactions (US dollars in thousands)

The Company is a party to certain transaction-related agreements with Yahoo, pursuant to which the Company issued 39,525,691 Ordinary shares and 45,198,702 Non-voting Ordinary shares to Yahoo, and granted Yahoo the right to appoint one representative to the Company’s board of directors, resulting in Yahoo becoming a principal shareholder effective the transaction closing on January 17, 2023. See Note 1b of Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in the 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The Company and its affiliates are parties to several agreements in the ordinary course of business with Yahoo and its affiliates. In connection with these agreements, for the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recorded revenues from Yahoo in the amount of $40,902. In addition, the Company recorded traffic acquisition costs related to Yahoo for the year ended December 31, 2023, in the amount of $45,183. Traffic acquisition costs noted herein are unaffiliated with the Yahoo revenues recorded for this period.

As of December 31, 2023, in regards to Yahoo, the Company’s balances of trade receivables were $12,297, and its balances of trade payables were $38,657, associated with the revenues presented on a gross and net basis.

The Company and Yahoo, pursuant to the Omnibus Agreement entered into on November 28, 2022, each agreed to pay certain expenses in connection with the transaction and each party agreed to reimburse the other for some or all of these expenses. Under these arrangements, the Company recognized $3,650, of expenses, net for the year ended December 31, 2023.

HUMAN CAPITAL

We strive to create a diverse, inclusive and ambitious environment where every employee can discover and unleash their potential to achieve individual and collective success. Our employees are our most valuable asset.

Employees

On December 31, 2023, we had approximately 1,900 employees, the majority of which have been employed by Taboola for over two years (including service periods of persons employed by Connexity prior to Taboola’s acquisition of Connexity). We have approximately 500 employees working in research and development, with an average tenure of four years.

As of December 31, 2023, our employees are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement, except as required by law under arrangements in France, Spain, and Brazil, covering a total of approximately 80 employees. We have never experienced a general strike or similar work stoppage.

Transparency

The ability to be transparent and share and discuss our business challenges and opportunities openly and broadly with all our employees is important to our success. We promote an open dialogue with our employees through all-hands meetings, usually twice a month, which include Q&A sessions with senior leadership. We conduct annual and topic-specific employee feedback surveys which consistently receive 80% or higher response rate. Survey results are shared publicly with our managers and employees. We continue to adjust our investment in human capital based on the feedback from our employees.

Talent Acquisition and Development

We are focused on recruiting and retaining talented employees across the organization, with a particular focus on unique talent in algorithms, product, customer relationship management and many other areas that are critical to our success. We continue to invest to hire and retain top talent in all of our offices, and provide competitive compensation for our employees and a range of flexible benefits, including an industry-leading parental leave policy. We have been consistently recognized by Dun & Bradstreet as a top high-tech company to work for in Israel and in 2023 were recognized by UK Campaigns as a 100 Best Places to Work and by Built In as one of the 100 best large companies to work for in all four of our major U.S. offices: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta. Our strong external reputation led to a quarterly average of over 20,000 candidates applying to work at Taboola in 2023. For new hires, we developed an onboarding program tailored towards their roles and responsibilities. On an ongoing basis, we invest in training and development programs that help our employees achieve their career goals, build management skills and lead their organizations. We have two formal career feedback discussions per year where managers and their employees discuss progress and feedback for each other. We believe in developing and promoting top talent from within: in 2023, approximately 15% of our employees were offered an opportunity for career advancement within the company.

Performance and Alignment

We seek to implement a “pay for performance” culture that we believe drives superior results. We invest in our workforce by offering competitive salaries, incentives, and benefits. We align the interests of our employees with those of Taboola through a broad-based equity award program, generally with a four-year vesting schedule. Typically, employee bonus plans are based on both personal and company goals.

Wellness and Diversity

In 2020, we launched a global taskforce that is focused on promoting wellness and diversity within our organization. The task force works with our senior management team to address global wellness and diversity topics and develop relevant initiatives to ensure we continue to build a culture where every employee feels valued, seen, and heard. We continue to have a mechanism for employees to anonymously voice concerns.

Throughout 2023, we continued to see the results of our initiatives. With respect to finding top diverse talent, we began by assessing our current workforce demographics by region and business unit, and established goals and guidelines in efforts of diversifying our recruitment funnel at the first assessment stage. We committed to wellness and diversity in recruiting by starting a Diverse Interview Slate Campaign to promote diversity in the interview process and reduce biases, which led to hiring more women managers in technical roles. We further invested in strategic partnerships with employment platforms that provide us multi-pronged access to highly skilled underrepresented talent, who may not currently be on our platform, such as Built-In, Ivy Research Council, and Jopwell. As a result, in 2023, we saw that 45% of our new hires were women and 16% of those women were hired into technical positions.

Within the organization, in 2023 we increased the number of Employee Resource Groups from seven to nine, and each has an annual budget to sponsor programming and events. We also have a mentorship program connecting Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) talent to senior leaders. We continue to have a number of global and region-specific initiatives held to promote a culture of inclusion and belonging - such as, workshops, panels, networking events and communities for various interest groups. We also partner with Gold Enterprises to create robust programming for our multi-year wellness and diversity training plan.

We are committed to building a long-term plan that will help foster a community that is diverse and inclusive, both internally and externally.

Proposal 1:

Re-election of Class III Directors

Our Board currently has nine directors and is divided into three classes with staggered three-year terms as follows:

At each annual general meeting of our shareholders, the election or re-election of directors following the expiration of the term of office of the directors of that class will be for a term of office that expires on the date of the third annual general meeting following such election or re-election.

At the Annual Meeting, shareholders will be asked to re-elect Zvi Limon, Monica Mijaleski and Adam Singolda.

If re-elected at the Annual Meeting, each of Zvi Limon, Monica Mijaleski and Adam Singolda will serve until the 2027 annual general meeting of our shareholders, and until their successor has been duly elected and qualified, or until their office is vacated in accordance with our Articles of Association or the Companies Law.

In accordance with the Companies Law, each of Zvi Limon, Monica Mijaleski and Adam Singolda has certified to us that they meet all the requirements of the Companies Law for election as a director of a public company, and possesses the necessary qualifications and has sufficient time to fulfill their duties as a director of the Company, taking into account the size and special needs of the Company.

During 2023, each Class III director attended 75% or more of total meetings of the Board and committees on which he or she served during 2023.

The Nominating and Governance Committee of our Board recommended that each of Zvi Limon, Monica Mijaleski and Adam Singolda be re-elected at the Meeting as a Class III director for a term to expire at the 2027 annual general meeting of our shareholders, and until their successor has been duly elected and qualified, or until their office is vacated in accordance with our Articles of Association or the Companies Law. Our Board approved this recommendation.

CLASS III DIRECTOR NOMINEES (NOMINATED FOR TERM EXPIRING 2027)

CLASS I DIRECTORS (TERM EXPIRES 2025)

CLASS II DIRECTORS (TERM EXPIRES 2026)

PROPOSAL

It is proposed that the following resolutions be adopted at the Meeting:

Executive Compensation

COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

This Compensation Discussion & Analysis, or CD&A, explains our executive compensation program for our named executive officers, or NEOs, listed below. This CD&A also describes the Compensation Committee’s process for making pay decisions, as well as its rationale for specific decisions related to the year ended December 31, 2023.

Executive Summary

We operate in the highly competitive advertising technology industry. To succeed in this environment, we must attract and retain high performing and experienced individuals, including executive officers with strong leadership skills who can run our business functions and achieve results that meet our clients’ needs and shareholders’ expectations. We have designed our executive compensation program to accomplish our goals in this highly competitive area for top talent, while at the same time fostering a “pay for performance” environment that aligns the long-term interests of our executive officers with the interests of our shareholders.

2023 Compensation Highlights

Our executive compensation program has three primary elements: base salary, annual short-term cash incentives, and long-term equity incentives. Each of these compensation elements serves a specific purpose in our compensation strategy. Base salary is an essential component to any market-competitive compensation program. Annual incentives reward the achievement of short-term goals, while long-term incentives drive our NEOs to focus on long-term sustainable shareholder value creation. In addition, from time-to-time special bonuses may be awarded to incentivize other specific objectives or to recognize specific accomplishments. Below are key highlights of the executive compensation decisions the Compensation Committee made with respect to target direct compensation for fiscal year 2023:

Executive Compensation Policies and Practices

Our executive compensation program is designed to be heavily weighted towards compensating our executive officers based on our financial performance and may also be based on other strategic or operational goals. To that end, we have implemented executive compensation policies and practices that reinforce our pay for performance philosophy and align with sound governance principles. Our policy also includes measures designed to reduce the executive officer’s incentives to take excessive risks that may harm the Company in the long-term, such as limits on the value of cash bonuses and equity-based compensation, limitations on the ratio between the variable and the total compensation of an executive officer, and minimum vesting periods for equity-based compensation. Currently, the following compensation policies and practices are in place:

What Guides Our Program

Compensation Philosophy and Objectives

Our executive compensation program is designed to attract, motivate and incentivize superior individual excellence and retain the key executives who drive our success. This section provides an overview of our executive compensation philosophy and objectives, and each component of our executive compensation program.

Our Philosophy

Our executive compensation program is designed to build long-term value for our shareholders and stakeholders by driving employee engagement and retention. Our goal is to align our executive pay with the success of our business. We do this by providing competitive base salaries and delivering the majority of compensation through pay elements that are designed to deliver short-term and long-term value creation for our shareholders as well as foster a culture of ownership. Our focus on pay for performance ensures that a significant portion of an executive’s total compensation is variable (“at risk”) and dependent upon the attainment of certain specific and measurable financial business objectives.

Our Objectives

Taboola’s executive compensation program for NEOs and other executive officers aims to:

Elements of Annual Compensation

The annual compensation arrangements for our NEOs include base salary, short-term incentive compensation in the form of cash incentive awards and long-term compensation in the form of equity awards. We have historically emphasized the use of equity to provide long-term incentives for our NEOs, to focus on the growth of our overall enterprise value and, correspondingly, to create sustainable value for our shareholders.

We also provide our employees, including our NEOs and other executives, with comprehensive employee benefit programs such as medical, dental and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan, life and disability insurance, flexible spending accounts, and other plans and programs made available to eligible employees.

Our Compensation Committee regularly evaluates our compensation philosophy and the components of our compensation program to ensure that they are effectively driving the Company’s strategic objectives and promoting strong performance while remaining market competitive.

The Decision-Making Process

Role of the Compensation Committee

The Compensation Committee is primarily responsible for establishing, approving and adjusting compensation arrangements for our senior executives, including the Chief Executive Officer and our other NEOs, and for reviewing and approving corporate goals and objectives relevant to these compensation arrangements, evaluating executive performance and considering factors related to the performance of the Company, including accomplishment of the Company’s long-term business and financial goals. The Compensation Committee is currently comprised of three independent, non-employee members of the Board.

The Compensation Committee works closely with its independent consultant, Pearl Meyer & Partners, LLC (“Pearl Meyer”), and senior executives to examine the effectiveness of the Company’s executive compensation program throughout the year.

Compensation decisions for our NEOs are made by the Compensation Committee and the Board, with input from Pearl Meyer, as well as from our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief People Officer (except with respect to their own compensation). The Compensation Committee reviews the cash and equity compensation of our NEOs with the goal of ensuring that our executive officers are properly incentivized and makes adjustments as it determines to be appropriate.

The Compensation Committee considers compensation data from our peer group as one of several factors that inform its judgment of appropriate parameters for target compensation levels. The Compensation Committee will also consider other factors in determining compensation including those set forth below, and may pay above, at, or below compensation paid by members of the peer group:

The Compensation Committee works with members of our management team, as appropriate, in reviewing executive compensation. Typically, our Chief Executive Officer and management team assist the Compensation Committee by providing information on corporate and individual performance and its perspectives and recommendations on compensation matters. Our Chief Executive Officer makes recommendations to the Compensation Committee regarding compensation matters, including the compensation of our other NEOs, but excluding his own. While the Compensation Committee solicits and reviews our Chief Executive Officer’s recommendations and proposals with respect to compensation-related matters, it uses these recommendations and proposals as one of many factors in making compensation decisions, and those decisions do not necessarily follow the Chief Executive Officer’s recommendations.

Role of the Compensation Consultant

The Compensation Committee has the authority to retain the services of external advisors, including compensation consultants, legal counsel and other advisors, from time to time, as it sees fit, in connection with carrying out its duties. In 2023, the Compensation Committee continued to engage Pearl Meyer to assist us in executing our executive compensation strategy and guiding principles, assessing the current target total direct compensation opportunities of our executive officers, including comparing them against competitive market practices, developing a compensation peer group and advising on potential executive compensation decisions for 2024.

Pearl Meyer does not provide any services to us other than the services provided to the Compensation Committee. Our Compensation Committee has assessed the independence of Pearl Meyer taking into account, among other things, the factors set forth in Exchange Act Rule 10C-1 and the Nasdaq listing standards, and has concluded that no conflict of interest exists with respect to the work that Pearl Meyer performs for the Compensation Committee.

Peer Group Considerations

The Compensation Committee reviews market data of companies that we believe are comparable to us. With Pearl Meyer’s assistance, the Compensation Committee determined our peer group for 2023 based on several factors, including industry classification, company size based on revenue and market capitalization, and other qualitative and business-related factors. Each year, the Compensation Committee examines our compensation peer group to ensure that it continues to reflect these factors, and will make adjustments as it determines to be appropriate.

Our peer group for 2023 compensation decisions consisted of 15 companies within the adtech and broader technology sectors. The Compensation Committee believes this mix of companies best reflects the combined nature of our business. The Compensation Committee referred to compensation data from this peer group when making 2023 base salary, short-term incentive award and equity award decisions for our NEOs. The following is a list of the public companies that comprised our 2023 peer group that at the time of review had median revenues of approximately $557 million and a median enterprise value, in the case of public companies, of approximately $1.5 billion.

2023 Peer Group

2024 Peer Group

In preparation for determining compensation in 2024, the Compensation Committee re-evaluated the 2023 peer group in consultation with Pearl Meyer. The Compensation Committee, among other considerations, evaluated the potential impacts of the Yahoo partnership and competition for employees. Following their review, the Compensation Committee determined that the following 17 companies constituted the appropriate peer group for executive compensation purposes in 2024.

2023 Compensation

Base Salaries

We pay base salaries to our NEOs to compensate them for their services and provide regular income. The salaries typically reflect each NEO’s experience, leadership skills and scope of responsibilities, although competitive market conditions also play a role in setting salary levels. The salaries of our NEOs are reviewed on an annual basis by our Compensation Committee with input from our Chief Executive Officer (other than with respect to his own salary, which is reviewed and determined by the Compensation Committee and the Board) and in consultation with Pearl Meyer. Base salaries are adjusted, as deemed appropriate, to maintain competitive pay positioning, reflect changes in responsibilities and other factors. After conducting its annual review for 2023 base salaries, and considering among other things, peer group data and relative compensation for the other NEOs, the Compensation Committee and Board determined that there would be no base salary increase in 2023 for the NEOs. The table below shows the 2023 and 2022 annual base salaries of our NEOs set by the Compensation Committee.

Annual Short-Term Incentive Compensation

Our annual short-term cash incentive compensation plan offers a cash bonus opportunity, representing a significant portion of each NEO’s base cash compensation, for the achievement of fixed financial goals for the Company. A target annual bonus opportunity, expressed as a percentage of an NEO’s base salary rate at year-end, is established annually by the Committee. The table below shows the 2023 target annual cash bonus opportunities for each of the NEOs.

2023 Performance Measures

The annual short-term cash incentive compensation program pays out to participants based on levels of performance against financial metrics established by the Committee for each NEO. For 2023, bonus payouts were calculated as follows:

The Committee determined that a plan focused on Adjusted EBITDA and ex-TAC Gross Profit was appropriate because it provides a reliable indicator of both our strategic growth and the strength of our overall financial results.

The following table details the bonus payout percentage associated with a corresponding performance level against the Adjusted EBITDA and ex-TAC Gross Profit targets for our NEOs. The payout percentage for performance is payable at the same percentage as the target achievement up to 100% of the target and interpolated between target and maximum as shown below, subject to a cap of 150%.

The following table sets forth our actual payout percentage achieved with respect to each performance metric applicable to our NEOs and illustrates the calculation of the annual cash incentive awards payable to our NEOs under the 2023 bonus program in light of these performance results.

Long-Term Incentive Compensation

Our long-term incentive awards, established through our Share Incentive Plans, are intended to drive executives to deliver strong stock performance, align our executives’ compensation with long-term value creation, and to attract and retain highly-qualified executives. For 2023, all long-term equity incentive awards were made as Time-Based Restricted Share Units (RSUs) that vest in equal quarterly installments over a four-year period beginning in the first quarter following the grant date.

Total grant date values for annual equity awards granted in 2023 for each NEO are shown below:

Target annual equity award values were determined based on our competitive market analysis and our compensation philosophy, which calibrates award levels between market median and 75^th percentile.

These grant date fair values were translated into RSUs by taking the corresponding dollar amount and dividing it by the per share “fair value” that was used for reporting the compensation expense associated with the grant under applicable accounting guidance.

Other Compensation Guidelines, Policies & Programs

Executive Officer Share Ownership Guidelines

We believe executive share ownership is critical to aligning our executives’ interests with those of our shareholders. It also incentivizes our executives to meet our financial, strategic and operational management objectives. Therefore, in 2021, the Board adopted Executive Officer Share Ownership Guidelines (“Officer Guidelines”) for our CEO and our NEOs. Our CEO is expected to own Ordinary shares of the Company with an aggregate value of five times his or her annual base salary and all other executive officers are expected to own an aggregate value of three times his or her base salary. The CEO and other executive officers are expected to comply with the Officer Guidelines on the later of: (i) June 29, 2026, the fifth anniversary of the adoption of this Officer Guideline or (ii) their appointment as an executive officer. The following Ordinary shares qualify toward satisfaction of the Officer Guidelines:

Unexercised options to purchase Ordinary shares of the Company do not count toward the Officer Guidelines. The level of ownership has been calculated as of March 27, 2024, the same date used for the Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management Table below, and by reference to the closing price of our Ordinary shares as reported by Nasdaq on that date. As of March 27, 2024, Mr. Singolda exceeded his Officer Guidelines of five times his base salary. Messrs. Golan and Walker exceeded their Officer Guidelines of three times their base salary. Mr. Maniv and Ms. Sundjaja are still subject to the phase-in period described above.

Clawback Policy

In accordance with Section 10D of the Exchange Act and the Nasdaq listing standards adopted in 2023 as mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Compensation Committee and Board adopted a Clawback Policy (“Clawback Policy”), effective as of October 2, 2023. Under the Clawback Policy, which applies to the Company’s current and certain former Section 16 officers, the Company must recover erroneously awarded incentive-based compensation on a pre-tax basis, subject to very limited exceptions. Recovery is triggered by accounting restatements that correct errors that are material to previously issued financial statements, as well as restatements that correct errors that are not material to previously issued financial statements but would result in a material misstatement if (a) the errors were left uncorrected in the current report or (b) the error correction was recognized in the current period. The Clawback Policy does not provide for enforcement discretion by the Compensation Committee or the Board and requires recovery regardless of whether a covered person engaged in any misconduct or is at fault.

Insider Trading, Anti-Hedging and Pledging Policies

We have an Insider Trading Compliance Policy (“Insider Trading Policy”) that requires our senior executive officers, including our NEOs, to pre-clear transactions in our securities with the Company’s Trade Clearance Committee, which consists of members of our legal department. Trading is permitted only during specified quarterly Company open trading periods. Our NEOs may enter into a trading plan in accordance with Rule 10b5-1. These trading plans may be entered into only during an open trading period, must be approved by the Company’s legal department, and must comply with the SEC mandated “cooling off” period prior to commencement of trading under the plan. An executive bears the full responsibility if he or she violates the Insider Trading Policy by permitting shares to be bought or sold without pre-clearance or when trading is restricted.

In addition, the Insider Trading Policy prohibits our directors, officers, employees and certain other persons from (i) purchasing financial instruments that are designed to hedge or offset any decrease in the market value of our Ordinary shares, or (ii) engaging in hedging transactions to offset any decrease in the market value of our Ordinary shares. Our Insider Trading Policy also prohibits our directors, executive officers and employees from pledging our Ordinary shares as collateral for margin loans.

Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation

Under ASC 718, we are required to estimate and record an expense for each award of equity compensation over the vesting period of the award. We record share-based compensation expense on an ongoing basis according to ASC 718.

Deductibility of Executive Compensation

Under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, compensation paid to each of our “covered employees” that exceeds $1 million per taxable year is generally non-deductible. Although the Compensation Committee will continue to consider tax implications as one factor in determining executive compensation, the Compensation Committee also looks at other factors in making its decisions and retains the flexibility to provide compensation for our NEOs in a manner consistent with the goals of our executive compensation program and the best interests of our shareholders, which may include providing for compensation that is not deductible due to the deduction limit under Section 162(m).

Risk Analysis of our Compensation Practices

Our Compensation Committee reviews and discusses with management the risks arising from our executive compensation philosophy and practices applicable to all employees to determine whether they encourage excessive risk-taking and to evaluate compensation policies and practices that could mitigate such risks. In addition, our Compensation Committee engaged Pearl Meyer to independently review our executive compensation program to determine whether it encourages excessive risk-taking and to evaluate compensation policies and practices that could mitigate such risks. Based on those reviews, the Compensation Committee structures our executive compensation program to encourage our NEOs to focus on both short-term and long-term success. We do not believe that our executive compensation program creates risks that are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on us.

Additional Executive Compensation Information

Compensation Committee Report

The Compensation Committee has reviewed and discussed the CD&A with management. Based on this review and discussion, the Compensation Committee recommended to the Board that the CD&A be included in this Proxy Statement and incorporated by reference into the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

Respectfully submitted by the members of the Compensation Committee:

Erez Shachar (Chair)

Zvi Limon

Nechemia J. Peres

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

During 2023, Messrs. Shachar, Limon and Peres served as members of the Compensation Committee. No member of our Compensation Committee served as an executive officer or employee of Taboola since we became a public company. None of our executive officers currently serve, or have served during 2023, on the compensation committee or board of directors of any other entity that has one or more executive officers serving as a member of our Board or Compensation Committee.

2023 Summary Compensation Table

The following table provides information regarding the compensation of our NEOs during the years shown.

Grants of Plan-Based Awards

The following table provides NEO 2023 grant information regarding equity awards (restricted share units, or RSUs) and two types of non-equity incentive plan awards: short-term performance-based cash awards (or STI) and long-term performance-based cash awards (or LTI).

Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year End

The following table sets forth information regarding outstanding options and awards held by our NEOs as of December 31, 2023.

Option Exercises and Stock Vested

The following table provides information on option exercises and awards that vested for the NEOs in 2023.

Severance and Potential Payments Upon Change in Control

We have entered into employment arrangements with each of our NEOs that provide for the basic terms of their employment, including base salary, annual incentive opportunity and equity grants. Certain NEOs, as discussed below, are also eligible to receive certain severance and change of control benefits. Each of our NEOs, other than Mr. Singolda, is employed at will.

Adam Singolda

Upon termination of his employment, Mr. Singolda is entitled to a 12-month notice period (“12-Month Notice Period”). During the 12-Month Notice Period, Mr. Singolda will be entitled to all rights and benefits pursuant to his employment arrangement, including any entitlements for bonus payments, until the effective date of termination. Mr. Singolda may elect to continue to perform his duties during the Notice Period as set forth in his employment arrangement or refrain from performing his duties and remain absent from the premises of the Company during the 12-Month Notice Period in which case Mr. Singolda’s salary will be paid as a lump sum within 15 days from the date notice of termination of employment is provided. In the event of a termination, Mr. Singolda would be entitled to $1,382,903 in salary, benefits and cash bonus payment. This assumes a cash bonus payment at Mr. Singolda’s target level for 2023.

Stephen Walker

If Mr. Walker’s employment is terminated without cause, or if he resigns on account of good reason, as defined in his RSU Award agreement dated September 17, 2020 (“RSU Agreement”), in each case within 12 months following a covered transaction, Mr. Walker will be entitled to an acceleration of vesting for the equity granted pursuant to the RSU Agreement. Based on Taboola’s Ordinary share closing price on December 29, 2023 of $4.33, Mr. Walker would be entitled to receive Taboola Ordinary shares with a value of $146,176.

Eldad Maniv

Upon termination of his employment, Mr. Maniv will be entitled to a 90-day notice period (“90-Day Notice Period”). During the 90-Day Notice Period, Mr. Maniv will be entitled to all rights and benefits pursuant to his employment agreement, including all components defined as additional benefits as defined in his employment agreement, until the effective date of termination. At the option of the Company, Mr. Maniv may continue to perform his duties during the 90-Day Notice Period as set forth in his employment agreement or remain absent from the premises of the Company during the 90-Day Notice Period. In the event of a termination, Mr. Maniv would be entitled to $400,303 in salary and benefits.

Lior Golan

Upon termination of his employment, Mr. Golan will be entitled to a 30-day notice period (“30-Day Notice Period”). During the 30-Day Notice Period, Mr. Golan will be entitled to all rights and benefits pursuant to his employment agreement, including all components defined as additional benefits as defined in his employment agreement, until the effective date of termination. At the option of the Company, Mr. Golan may continue to perform his duties during the 30-Day Notice Period as set forth in his employment agreement or remain absent from the premises of the Company during the 30-Day Notice Period. In the event of a termination, Mr. Golan would be entitled to $302,727 in salary and benefits.

CEO Pay Ratio

Under the applicable SEC rules, the Company is providing the following information for fiscal year 2023:

SEC rules permit companies to use the same median employee for up to three years as long as there has been no change to the employee population or employee compensation arrangements that a company believes would result in a significant change to our pay ratio disclosure. Although there were no changes to our employee population or employee compensation arrangements that would have a material impact on our CEO pay ratio, we identified a new median employee because the employee used in 2022 is no longer an employee of the Company. The newly identified median employee is similarly situated to the 2022 median employee.

In order to determine the median employee, the Company examined annual cash compensation (base salary, short-term incentive awards and commissions) plus the fair market value of equity granted in the 2023 calendar year for all employees, excluding our CEO, employed as of October 31, 2023, (the “Determination Date”). On the Determination Date, our employee population consisted of approximately 1,800 individuals, of which approximately 400 employees were located in the United States and approximately 1,400 were located in non-US jurisdictions. This population consisted of our full-time, part-time, and temporary employees.

Once we identified our median employee, we combined all of the elements of such employee’s compensation for 2023 to determine the median employee total compensation in accordance with the requirements of Item 402(c)(2)(x) of Regulation S-K and compared such total compensation to the total compensation of our CEO, as reported in the Summary Compensation Table.

We believe our CEO pay ratio presented above is a reasonable good faith estimate calculated in a manner consistent with the SEC’s CEO pay ratio rules and methods for disclosure. The SEC rules for identifying the median employee and calculating the pay ratio allow companies to use different methodologies, exemptions, estimates and assumptions that reflect their employee populations and compensation practices. As a result, our CEO pay ratio may not be comparable to the CEO pay ratio reported by other companies.

 

 

 

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management

The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our Ordinary shares by: