AppNexus, a closely held advertising technology based in New York, fired 13 percent of its employees on Thursday and Friday, according to press reports.

The 150 job cuts come as the company is said to be preparing for an initial public offering of stock next year. AppNexus plans to combine two divisions, the “advertiser technology group” with the “publisher technology group,” while developing its cloud-based ad-serving capabilities.

“The actual business has been very strong,” Josh Zeitz, a company spokesperson, told AdExchanger. “We don’t think most customers will notice a difference.”

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. invested $10 million in AppNexus in September, and is also a client of the company.

“Although all teams will be affected, sales and account management are bearing the brunt of the layoffs,” AdExchanger reports. “Layoffs will be concentrated on the East Coast of the United States.”

Adtech firm The Trade Desk went public in September with a $1 billion IPO and lost 12 percent of its value by the close of trading Friday.