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M&A Deal Summary

VSS Capital Partners Acquires Brand Connections

On June 30, 2008, private equity firm VSS Capital Partners acquired digital media company Brand Connections from Geolo Capital and The Cypress Group

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is VSS Capital Partners’ 2nd transaction in the Digital Media sector.
  • This is VSS Capital Partners’ 46th transaction in the United States.
  • This is VSS Capital Partners’ 9th transaction in New York.
Investment Fate
  • Brand Connections was sold to a strategic buyer in 2017.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 2008-06-30
Target Brand Connections
Sector Digital Media
Buyer(s) VSS Capital Partners
Sellers(s) Geolo Capital
The Cypress Group
Deal Type Secondary Buyout

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

VSS Capital Partners

New York, New York, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1987
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 1987 and is based in New York, New York.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 62 of 99
Sector (Digital Media) 2 of 2
Type (Secondary Buyout) 5 of 12
State (New York) 9 of 11
Country (United States) 46 of 79
Year (2008) 4 of 4
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2008-06-19 Avatar International

Lake Mary, Florida, United States

Avatar International LLC is a patient experience and employee engagement company. Avatar Solutions’ survey research programs helped organizations advance their missions by capturing and mobilizing the feedback of key stakeholders.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2008-09-26 Alexander Gallo

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Alexander Gallo Holdings LLC is the nation’s privately-owned court reporting and litigation support services company. Alexander Gallo Holdings is home to one of the largest base of court reporters in the country. Alexander Gallo was founded in 1999 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Sell -

Seller(S) 2

SELLER

Geolo Capital

San Francisco, California, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 2005
Size Small
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Geolo Capital is the private equity investment arm of The John A. Pritzker family. Geolo specializes in growth capital and buyout investments in middle market companies throughout the US. Areas of interests include hospitality, entertainment, health/wellness, and consumer products/services. Geolo Capital is based in San Francisco.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 3 of 9
Sector (Digital Media) 1 of 1
Type (Secondary Buyout) 1 of 1
State (New York) 1 of 2
Country (United States) 3 of 9
Year (2008) 1 of 1
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2007-12-22 Local TV

Ft. Wright, Kentucky, United States

Local TV is a major new platform of broadcast TV stations created by merging nine TV stations acquired from the New York Times Broadcast Media Group with eight TV stations acquired from News Corporation in July 2008.

Buy $1.1B
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2009-07-02 Carmel Valley Ranch

Carmel-By-The-Sea, California, United States

Carmel Valley Ranch is a luxurious Carmel hotel tucked away in the lush forests of the Santa Lucia Mountains. Carmel Valley Ranch is based in Carmel-By-The-Sea, California.

Buy $20M
SELLER

The Cypress Group

New York, New York, United States
Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1989
PE ASSETS 4.0B USD
Size Large
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

The Cypress Group is a private equity firm that acquires businesses in a range of industries. Broad sectors of interest include consumer services, financial services, and manufacturing. The Cypress Group was formed in 1989 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 9 of 12
Sector (Digital Media) 1 of 1
Type (Secondary Buyout) 2 of 2
State (New York) 1 of 2
Country (United States) 7 of 10
Year (2008) 1 of 2
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2007-12-07 ClubCorp Holdings

Dallas, Texas, United States

ClubCorp Holdings owns and operates golf, country, business, sports, and alumni clubs. ClubCorp owns or operates a portfolio of over 200 golf and country clubs, business clubs, sports clubs, and alumni clubs in 28 states, the District of Columbia and two foreign countries that serve over 430,000 members, with approximately 20,000 peak-season employees. ClubCorp Holdings was founded in 1957 and is based in Dallas, Texas.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2008-11-11 CPI

Plano, Texas, United States

CPI is a designer and manufacturer of electronic components, subsystems and antenna systems for the communications, government, medical and scientific markets. CPI provides technology solutions used in the generation, transmission and reception of signals used in both commercial (broadband internet, in‐flight connectivity) and government (earth observation, satellite communications) applications. CPI was founded in 1995 and is based in Plano, Texas.

Sell -
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