• Last year was tepid for M&A in advertising and marketing, but PE buyers remained active.
• PE firms are interested in areas like digital transformation, social media, and data-powered creative.
• Experts named 13 PE firms likely to make further investments in the advertising and marketing space in 2024.

It was a tepid year for M&A activity in 2023 across most sectors, and advertising and marketing was no exception.

Still, private-equity companies remained active in the space and were responsible for 38% of the deals in the media and marketing sector last year, according to the advisory firm Ciesco.

With interest rates stabilizing and global private-equity dry powder estimated to stand at more than $2.5 trillion, experts predict private equity M&A activity will tick up in 2024.

"We started to see a lot of inquiries and outreach in late December from different firms, strategics, and PE asking us what we were representing and giving us their mandates," said Bob Morris, cofounder and managing partner of the Bravery Group, an advisory firm.

Areas of interest in the advertising and marketing sector include digital and creative transformation, social and influencer marketing, retail media networks, sports marketing, and data-powered creative, according to William Ritchie, managing director of the advisory firm WY Partners.

Ritchie said PE buyers will be on the hunt for "profitable businesses demonstrating growth in 2024, potentially coming off softer 2023 performance."

And Chris Karl, the chief business development officer at advisory firm JEGI Clarity, said that while some of the funds are looking for add-ons to existing marketing investments, others are looking to provide the first institutional money to up-and-coming companies and will then encourage the founders of those businesses to "stick around to build."

Business Insider identified 13 of the most active PE firms in the space, listed alphabetically. The list is based on deals made in the last 12 months and conversations with industry experts about which firms are searching for new marketing and advertising investments.

Representatives for the PE firms either declined to comment or didn't respond to requests for comment unless otherwise noted.

Did we miss any other major PE deals or active acquirers in the advertising, marketing, and communications space from the last 12 months? Let us know by emailing Lara O'Reilly at loreilly@businessinsider.com

Ares Management

Assets under management: $39 billion

Key properties: XR/Extreme Reach

Ares made an investment in the PE-backed creative advertising workflow solution XR in June of 2023. XR is majority-owned by another PE firm, Gamut Capital, and says it is responsible for enabling $150 billion in global TV ad spending across 93 of the top 100 advertisers.

XR rebranded in January of this year and was previously known as Extreme Reach. It also announced a string of new hires, including adding former Innovid and TVSquared president Jo Kinsella to its exec team.

At the time of its investment, Ares Management said its capital would help the company accelerate growth in areas like workflow, asset management, digital video, and entertainment payroll solutions.

Blackstone

Assets under management: $1 trillion+

Key Properties: New Tradition, Liftoff, Simpli.fi, Foundry

Blackstone's various funds have a number of properties that cover a wide breadth of the advertising space.

Blackstone's Tactical Opportunities division in June acquired a majority stake in the digital and static billboard company New Tradition, which manages One Times Square in New York and The Reef in Los Angeles.

Earlier last year, Simpli.fi, a programmatic ad platform in which Blackstone took a stake in 2021 alongside fellow PE firm GTCR, acquired the contextual and native advertising specialist Bidtellect.

Bridgepoint

Assets under management: $43 billion

Key properties: MiQ, Equativ, Team ITG, Samy Alliance

Bridgepoint has a number of ad-related investments across its various arms.

In February last year, Bridgepoint Development Capital took a majority stake in the adtech firm Equativ, which valued the company at around $371 million at the time. And in August of that year, Bridgepoint acquired a stake in Samy Alliance, a Madrid-based digital-marketing company that specializes in social media. Aurica Capital is Samy Alliance's majority shareholder.

In 2022, Bridgepoint became the majority shareholder of the UK-based adtech company MiQ, which valued it at more than $900 million. MiQ went on to acquire the cookieless publisher audience creation platform AirGrid and, in November last year, the compliance platform Grasp.

Bridgepoint also has a majority stake in Team ITG, a UK marketing services agency, that has since gone on to acquire New Zealand-based tech reseller Brand Machine, the customer experience agency Emerald Thinking Group, and the creative approval platform ReviewStudio.

Falfurrias Capital Partners

Assets under management: $1 billion

Key properties: Brainlabs, Said Differently

Falfurrias last year invested in Brainlabs, a UK-based digital ad firm that specializes in areas of performance marketing like programmatic advertising and search. It works with clients like Adidas, Estée Lauder Companies, and Polaroid.

Since taking on that investment, Brainlabs acquired Sparro, an Australian independent digital media agency with a team of more than 100 staffers.

Falfurrias also invested in Said Differently, a strategic consulting and marketing agency, in which it took a stake in 2022. The company has a global network of more than 3,000 freelance designers, programmers, strategists, and other advertising staff and a small number of full-timers.

GTCR

Assets under management: $35 billion

Key properties: Guideline, Simpli.fi

GTCR's activity in the advertising space has been a little slower than in previous years, though it did complete one acquisition: Its portfolio company Guideline acquired Lumina, the media-planning software division of the adtech company Mediaocean.

Guideline was formed as it announced that deal, a combination of GTCR's 2022 acquisitions of the planning and media data tools Standard Media Index and SQAD.

Earlier this year, Business Insider revealed that adtech industry veteran John Nardone was working with GTCR to identify target companies for another adtech rollup.

GTCR Managing Director Stephen Master said the PE firm is working with domain experts in three key areas: Cookieless ad targeting, media measurement, and talent marketplaces.

"There may be an opportunity to create a marketplace for hiring specialized media buying talent," Master said.

Keystone Capital

Assets under management: $1.4 billion

Key properties: BarkleyOKRP, Merge

When making platform investments, Keystone looks for companies reporting EBITDA of between $2 million and $15 million.

In March of this year, Keystone merged competing independent strategy and creative agencies Barkley and OKRP to form a new 650-person agency called BarkleyOKRP. Keystone had acquired a stake in Barkley in 2023.

BarkleyOKRP's clients include major brands like Burger King, AMC, and Planet Fitness.

Elsewhere, Keystone also has a stake in the healthcare-focused marketing and technology services firm Merge, which has been an active acquirer of martech and performance marketing assets.

Keystone Capital Managing Director Bill Sommerschield said the next leaders of the advertising and marketing industry will be the ones who figure out how to combine the inherently human elements of strategy and creativity with future technologies.

"The next evolution of the industry will, unsurprisingly, be focused on leveraging modern technology suites, internally developed technology tools, and AI to enhance customer's experiences with brands, as well as helping clients maximize the utility of their internal technology ecosystems," he added.

KKR

Assets under management: $553 billion

Key properties: FGS Global, Alchemer, Applovin

KKR in 2023 took a near-30% stake in the financial and corporate communications firm FGS Global, valuing the group at around $1.4 billion. Advertising holding company WPP retained the majority stake in FGS Global, which was formed by combining the PR firms Sard Verbinnen and Finsbury Glover Hering.

Strategic communications and positioning have become increasingly important for blue-chip firms in recent years given the turbulent macroeconomic environment and the level of care required when handling and responding to myriad hot-button issues.

At the time of the FGS investment, KKR's co-head of European private equity said that the firm believed the strategic communications space was "absolutely at an interesting and pivotal point."

Elsewhere, KKR has stakes in the public adtech company Applovin and its Ascendant division has an investment in the customer experience software provider Alchemer. (KKR is also a shareholder in Axel Springer, Business Insider's parent company.)

"We put a premium on investing in companies that have great teams and leaders who can navigate the rapidly shifting advertising, marketing, and communications landscapes," said Ted Oberwager, a KKR partner. "Great tech and great people are a winning combination."

Marlin Equity Partners

Assets under management: $8.7 billion

Properties: Meltwater, EditShare, Reputation

Marlin in August completed its acquisition of Meltwater, a media-monitoring and social-listening company popular among PR agencies and communications teams. Marlin partnered with fellow PE firm Altor Equity Partners, which together hold a majority stake in Meltwater (it was delisted from the Oslo Stock Exchange following the transaction).

"We are committed to supporting Meltwater with the strategic and financial resources that will accelerate overall growth, technological innovation, and the delivery of a top-of-the-line product offering to its clients," said Natasha Mann, a principal at Marlin.

Elsewhere, Marlin is an investor in the content-management and video-collaboration software companies EditShare and Shift Media, which in September merged to become simply EditShare.

Mountaingate Capital

Assets under management: $865 million

Properties: Bond, The Mars Agency, WTWH Media, Acceleration Partners, Anteriad, Bold Orange, Ignite Visibility

Colorado-based PE firm Mountaingate has a range of marketing services assets in its portfolio. In May of this last year, it added Bond Brand Loyalty, a customer experience firm with more than 800 staffers.

In December, its Ignite Visibility digital-marketing agency acquired Integrated Digital Strategies, a digital-marketing agency that works with franchise brands. It was its first acquisition since taking on investment from Mountaingate in February last year.

Another of its portfolio companies, the business-to-business media and marketing company WTWH Media, has also been acquisitive this year. In July, it snapped up Aging Media Network, a digital-media company focused on senior care and behavioral health. And in June, it expanded its food service offering with the acquisition of PMQ Pizza, a business outlet covering the $50 billion US pizza industry.

Mountaingate Managing Director Trent Sisson told Business Insider that the firm is still very interested in the marketing and advertising space.

"We continue to focus on partnering with founders who have a strong vision about where we are headed and where we can help them get there faster," Sisson said.

Novacap

Assets under management: $8 billion

Properties: Cadent, Static Media

In August, the Canadian PE firm Novacap acquired US TV adtech platform Cadent in a deal valued at close to $600 million, as Business Insider reported.

At the time, Cadent said it was on the hunt for acquisitions to broaden its TV ad stack, in areas such as campaign activation, privacy tech, and reporting tools. It also wanted to move beyond TV to other channels like display, social, and out-of-home advertising.

"We believe Cadent is well-positioned to unify the components of an end-to-end technology platform, making it effortless for advertisers and publishers to transact strategically in an efficient, privacy-minded environment," Novacap partner for TMT investments Sam Nasso told Business Insider for this article. "We see this as the opportunity for the future."

Novacap also owns Static Media, which originally began its life as the content-recommendation platform ZergNet, and now owns online media properties like Tasting Table, Outdoor Guide, and Slash Gear.

One Equity Partners

Assets under management: $10 billion

Key Properties: MSQ, Locality, Infobip

In June, One Equity Partners replaced LDC as the controlling shareholder in MSQ, a UK advertising agency holding company that owns properties like design agency Elmwood, production company Brave Spark, and The Gate.

MSQ Chief Executive Peter Reid told Campaign at the time that the company had identified some potential add-on acquisitions to help it expand internationally.

Elsewhere last year, One Equity Partners combined its US media agency property CoxReps with the connected-TV ad platform Gamut to create Locality, a new company offering local TV advertising.

TH Lee Partners

Assets under management: $15.4 billion

Key properties: Bazaarvoice, Bynder, Inriver

THL's technology team is interested in companies within the "front office software" space that create products for marketing, advertising, and sales teams.

THL portfolio company Bazaarvoice, which offers a platform for companies to manage their user-generated content and social commerce, in December acquired Granify, a Canadian e-commerce company that helps power personalized shopping experiences. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

Last year, Bazaarvoice snapped up the creator marketing platform Affable.ai in another social-commerce play.

THL also has a majority stake in Bynder, a digital asset management platform that helps businesses manage their content and relationships. In September, Bynder acquired EMRAYS, which offers AI-powered search capabilities.

Another current investment is Inriver, which provides product information management and e-commerce tech to retailers and brands that ensures consumers can view up-to-date product specifications.

Waterland Private Equity Investments

Assets under management: $15.1 billion

Key properties: Mrge, AFO, Sideshow Group

In its latest annual technology and media M&A review, advisory firm Ciesco said that Waterland was among the most active private-equity investors in the advertising space, based on deals completed in 2022 and 2023.

The Netherlands-based firm last year acquired a majority stake in Markettiers4DC, a UK marketing network, for a reported $64 million. In January of this year, Markettiers4DC rebranded as The AFO Group, which stands for "All For One." Its agencies include the creative studio Sassy Create, which it acquired last August; the PR specialist Markettiers; and the market-research company Censuswide.

Elsewhere, Waterland is a backer of Mrge, a Germany-based commerce platform that was launched in 2022. In 2023 Mrge acquired SourceKnowledge, a Canada-based retail ad network, which helped it expand its presence in North America.

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