M&A Deal Summary

Advantage Solutions Acquires Brand Connections

On August 8, 2017, Advantage Solutions acquired digital media company Brand Connections from VSS Capital Partners

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Advantage Solutions’ 1st transaction in the Digital Media sector.
  • This is Advantage Solutions’ 13th transaction in the United States.
  • This is Advantage Solutions’ 3rd transaction in New York.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 2017-08-08
Target Brand Connections
Sector Digital Media
Buyer(s) Advantage Solutions
Sellers(s) VSS Capital Partners
Deal Type Add-on Acquisition
Advisor(s) Petsky Prunier (Financial)

Target

Brand Connections

New York, New York, United States
Brand Connections creates and executes digitally integrated marketing campaigns that enhance brand awareness, influence consumers on their path-to-purchase, and increase sales for consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands and national retailers. The company is retail-centric and digitally savvy across all divisions, fulfilling the needs of its clients through its full suite of in-house capabilities, including a strong focus on retail and shopper in-store marketing programs, sampling and fulfillment services, digital media, digital consumer promotions, and experiential solutions, among other services.

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Buyer(S) 1

Buyer

Advantage Solutions

Clayton, Missouri, United States
Category Company
Founded 1987
Sector Marketing
Employees20,000
Revenue 4.2B USD (2023)
DESCRIPTION

Advantage Solutions is a business solutions provider committed to driving growth for consumer goods manufacturers and retailers through winning insights and execution. Advantage’s data and technology-enabled omnichannel solutions including sales, retail merchandising, business intelligence, digital commerce, and a full suite of marketing services are designed to help brands and retailers across a broad range of channels drive consumer demand, increase sales and achieve operating efficiencies. Headquartered in Irvine, California, Advantage has offices throughout the United States and Canada and a presence in select markets throughout Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe. Advantage Solutions was founded in 1987 and is based in Clayton, Missouri.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 16 of 23
Sector (Digital Media) 1 of 1
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 15 of 21
State (New York) 3 of 5
Country (United States) 13 of 20
Year (2017) 1 of 3
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2016-11-29 Upshot

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Upshot, Inc. is a seamless marketing agency. Upshot specializes in shopper marketing, brand initiatives and total brand engagement that seamlessly flow through digital, social, mobile and in-store environments.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2017-08-16 Data Council

Jacksonville, Florida, United States

Data Council provides reliable retail product information solutions. Their IX-ONE membership-based platform provides independently verified and standardized product information to vendors, brokers, distributors, retailers and key partners in the organic, natural and specialty products industry. Their unique approach allows its members royalty-free use of all applicable data and images to run their businesses including internal systems, marketing, billing and more. They physically handle and image every product annually including capturing all available data. Data Council was formed in 2014 and is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

Buy -

Seller(S) 1

SELLER

VSS Capital Partners

New York, New York, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1981
PE ASSETS 4.0B USD
Size Large
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

VSS Capital Partners is a private equity firm that targets investments in the media, communications, education, and information services sectors. VSS looks for opportunities with valuable brand franchises, stable cash flows, and infrastructure to support add-ons. The Firm will consider businesses throughout North America and Europe valued between $50 and $750 million. Prospective investment situations include management buyouts/buy-ins, expansion or acquisition financings, recapitalizations, build-ups, going private transactions, and partnerships. VSS was formed in 1981 and is based in New York City.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 44 of 56
Sector (Digital Media) 1 of 1
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 17 of 22
State (New York) 3 of 6
Country (United States) 32 of 43
Year (2017) 2 of 4
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2017-04-25 Source Medical Solutions

Birmingham, Alabama, United States

Source Medical Solutions, Inc. (SourceMedical) is a provider of outpatient information solutions and revenue cycle management services for rehabilitation clinics, ambulatory surgery centers and specialty hospitals nationwide. SourceMed is based in Birmingham, Alabama.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2017-11-07 BrandShop

Shelton, Connecticut, United States

BrandShop is a provider of brand digital commerce solutions for Fortune 1000 companies. BrandShop fuses technology, design and analytics to streamline the way products are discovered and purchased delivering unprecedented insight to the brands. Co-founded by Reuben S. Hendell, BrandShop works with more than 50 clients including Casio, Cuisinart, Ping, Jaguar, Georgia-Pacific, Land Rover, Hershey's, Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day and Waterpik. BrandShop was founded in 1989 and is based in Shelton, Connecticut.

Sell -
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