advertising

Baird Capital Keeps Adding on at Myelin

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Myelin Communications, a portfolio company of Baird Capital, has acquired HY Connect, an advertising agency in Chicago, and Dodge Communications, a public relations and communications firm in Atlanta.

HY Connect provides digital, creative, brand strategy, social media and research services to an array of customers across many industries. The company – according to Baird – has been described as one of the fastest growing advertising agencies in America.  HY Connect has offices in Chicago and Milwaukee (www.hyc.com).

“Myelin’s network will bring new resources and expertise to HY Connect,” said Dave Sheehan, president of HY Connect. “This is an important growth opportunity for us and we’re pleased to join this collaborative partnership.”

Dodge Communications provides public relations, social media, content development, and creative and digital services to the healthcare industry. The company was founded in 2001 and has 50 employees in its Atlanta headquarters (www.dodgecommunications.com).

“Being part of Myelin Communications provides an exciting opportunity for our clients and employees,” said Brad Dodge, president and founder of Dodge Communications. “We look forward to exchanging best practices and expertise with such a strong network of firms that share our passion for healthcare.”

Myelin Communications, created by Baird Capital in November 2012, provides public relations, social media, content development, and creative and digital services to companies operating in the health and financial services sectors.  Myelin Communications is headquartered in Boston (www.myelincommunications.com).

With the closing of the acquisitions of HY Connect and Dodge Communications, Myelin is now  comprised of five companies: PARTNERS+simons, a Boston-based brand communications and integrated marketing services firm specializing in healthcare and financial services; Duet Health, a Columbus-based mobile communication platform serving hospitals, health systems and general health providers; AVID Design, an Atlanta-based online marketing communication business with a healthcare website design and content management system presence; HY Connect; and Dodge Communications.

“While most companies in our industry are focused on growth in terms of size, Myelin’s growth is fueled by teaming with companies that will enable us to provide deeper, richer and more comprehensive service offerings for clients,” said Rich Levy, CEO of Myelin.  “HY Connect and Dodge Communications are both directly aligned with the Myelin vision, and we look forward to working together to support our clients’ success.”

Baird Capital, the direct private investment arm of Robert W. Baird & Co., invests in lower middle-market companies in the manufactured products, healthcare and business services sectors. The firm invests from $15 million to $35 million in companies with enterprise values of $25 million to $125 million and EBITDAs greater than $5 million. Baird Capital was founded in 1989 and is based in Chicago (www.bairdcapital.com).

© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 6-24-15

KRG Acquires PulsePoint Group

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Olson, a digital advertising agency and a portfolio company of KRG Capital, has acquired PulsePoint Group, a digital marketing strategy consulting firm. KRG first invested in Olson in October 2009.

PulsePoint Group is a digital marketing strategy consulting firm specializing in C-suite and boardroom-level consulting. PulsePoint provides insight, strategy development and strategic execution for communications and marketing management projects with a special focus on social and digital engagement. The firm’s client list includes Toyota, Novartis and Delta Air Lines. The company is based in Austin, TX (www.pulsepointgroup.com).

OLSON is one of the top 5 independent, full-service digital advertising and marketing agencies in the United States. OLSON provides services to brands in numerous verticals ranging from transportation and retail to financial services, consumer packaged goods, and medical devices. Customers include Best Buy, General Mills, MillerCoors, Target and Wrigley. Olson has offices in Minneapolis, Austin, Chicago, Toronto, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York (www.olson.com).

KRG Capital specializes in acquiring and recapitalizing unique and profitable middle-market companies. Since inception, KRG has invested in 45 platform companies and has completed 144 add-on acquisitions for those platforms. Founded in 1996, KRG has over $4 billion of capital under management and is based in Denver (www.krgcapital.com).

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 12-18-13

Generation Partners Invests in Captivate Network

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Gannett Co. has agreed to partner with Generation Partners to fund the continued growth and expansion of the Captivate Network, which will be spun out into a separate company co-owned by Gannett and Generation.

Captivate Network is a digital media company that operates an IP-enabled digital place-based media network with over 10,000 office elevator displays across more than 1,000 commercial office buildings in the US and Canada. The company was founded in 1997 and acquired by Gannet in 2004.  Captivate Network is headquartered in Chelmsford, MA (near Boston) with additional offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Toronto (www.captivate.com).

“Captivate is one of the most established brands in the digital place-based industry, with the largest network in North America to reach a highly desirable consumer demographic in a captive office environment,” said Andrew Hertzmark, managing partner of Generation Partners. “The company has strong, long-term relationships with both advertisers and property owners and our goal through this partnership is to continue to build on Captivate’s 16-year history of providing a valuable experience for viewers, building owners and advertising customers.”

Captivate also announced that Marc Kidd has been named Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Kidd is a marketing, media and entertainment executive who has been on the forefront developing communications platforms to connect branded content with clients wanting to engage their consumers. Having started his career at Host Communications in the early 1980s, Mr. Kidd pioneered the corporate sponsorship business for college and high school sports.  In 2004, he joined Winnercomm, which was the leading provider of third-party produced content to ESPN. Mr. Kidd was named COO of Winnercomm in 2006 and became its President in 2007.  Outdoor Channel Holdings acquired Winnercomm in 2009, at which point Mr. Kidd became President, Media Sales of Outdoor Channel Holdings.  Outdoor Channel enjoyed record sales growth under Kidd’s leadership.

“It is an honor to be given the opportunity to lead Captivate,” said Mr. Kidd. “As a leader in the digital place-based media industry, Captivate is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the growing industry trend of reaching audiences on the go, on the path to purchase.  With over 10,000 screens reaching 5.6 million upscale professionals each month in both the U.S. and Canada, Captivate delivers a highly compelling value to advertisers seeking to target a very affluent, but difficult-to-reach, audience.  I am thrilled to partner with Generation, Gannett, and the entire Captivate management team and look forward to building on Captivate’s success.”

In addition, Mark Shapiro has been named Captivate’s Chairman and is an investor alongside Generation.  Mr. Shapiro has extensive experience and contacts in the advertising, television, sports and entertainment industries and also has a strong track record in the digital place-based media industry. Mr. Shapiro was most recently the CEO of Dick Clark Productions (“DCP”), an entertainment and production company that produced the Golden Globes, the American Music Awards, the Academy of Country Music Awards and many other hit shows.  DCP was sold in 2012 for over $370 million, more than double the acquisition price just four years earlier. Prior to Dick Clark Productions, Mr. Shapiro was the CEO of Six Flags after a highly successful career at ESPN, where he was the Executive Vice President of Programming and Production responsible for the development, acquisition and scheduling of all programming.

“The idea of contributing to a company at the epicenter of content, technology, eyeballs and advertising is extremely appealing and very exciting,” said Mr. Shapiro.  “Partnering on this opportunity with Generation and Marc Kidd, both of whom I have known for nearly a decade, combined with the strength and track record of Gannett, provides Captivate with outstanding strategic, financial and execution resources.”

Generation Partners is a private equity firm with over $350 million of capital under management.  Generation provides equity capital to growth companies and pursues both majority and minority investments.  Over the past 25 years, the firm’s principals have invested in more than 50 companies in three primary industry groups: Media & Communications; Healthcare Services & Software; and Business & Information Services.  Generation has offices in Greenwich, CT, Los Angeles, CA, and Austin, TX (www.generation.com).

Gannett (NYSE: GCI) is an international media and marketing services company that informs and engages more than 100 million people every month through its network of broadcast, digital, mobile and publishing properties. The company is based in McLean, VA (www.gannett.com).

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 9-27-13

Shamrock Capital Advisors Invests in Giant Creative

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Shamrock Capital Advisors has made an investment in Giant Creative, a healthcare communications agency.

Giant Creative is a healthcare communications agency specializing in positioning and branding, and strategic and creative development for pharmaceutical, biotech, consumer health, medical device, and diagnostics companies. The company was founded in 2002 and has over 130 employees. Giant Creative is based in San Francisco (www.giantsf.com).

“We feel very fortunate to have a company like Giant in the Shamrock family,” said Will Wynperle, Partner with Shamrock. “Our approach has always been to work with companies with untapped intrinsic value, and those capitalizing on emerging trends. There’s no question that Giant’s position at the epicenter of healthcare, technology, and communications, makes them a great partner for us.”

Shamrock Capital Advisors has over $700 million of capital under management and invests in the media, entertainment, and communications sectors. Originally founded in 1978 as the Roy E. Disney family investment company, Shamrock is currently investing out of Shamrock Capital Growth Fund III, a $400 million fund raised in 2011. The firm is based in Los Angeles (www.shamrockcap.com).

AdMedia Partners, a New York based investment bank (www.admediapartners.com), served as the exclusive financial advisor to Giant.

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 5-2-13

ACON and MidOcean Merge Fairway Outdoor and Olympus Media

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ACON Investments and MidOcean Partners announced today that they have merged their respective portfolio companies, Fairway Outdoor Advertising and Olympus Media, to form Fairway Media Group. “We believe this transaction will drive tremendous growth and value,” said Ken Brotman a Founding Partner of ACON. “The combined company will have the increased scale and market presence to continue growing and investing in new technologies.”

The combined company has more than 21,300 bulletin and poster displays in 17 states across the Southeast and Midwest and is now the fourth largest traditional outdoor advertising company in the U.S. The company will be headquartered in Greenville, SC (www.fairwayoutdoor.com) (www.olympusmediallc.com).

Mark Moyer, the current Chief Executive Officer of Fairway Outdoor, will be the Chief Executive Officer of Fairway Media. “Fairway Outdoor is excited about combining with Olympus to more fully exploit the growth opportunities available in the outdoor advertising industry including digital technology, new measurement systems, tuck-in acquisitions and other future growth opportunities,” said Mr. Moyer. “Building on the success that both Fairway Outdoor and Olympus have achieved to date, we believe this combination represents an excellent opportunity for the employees, customers, shareholders, local communities and other key stakeholders in Fairway Media.”

ACON Investments manages private equity funds and special purpose partnerships in the US and Latin America. ACON pursues a theme-based investment strategy by focusing on industries and businesses at key inflection points in their development and pursues these opportunities in close partnership with established management teams. ACON has offices in Washington, Los Angeles, Madrid, Mexico City and Sao Paulo (www.aconinvestments.com).

MidOcean Partners is a private equity firm focused on the middle market. MidOcean seeks companies with stable market positions and multiple opportunities for growth. Industries of interest include consumer, media and communications, business and financial services and industrial services. The firm has offices in New York, NY and London, UK (www.midoceanpartners.com).

“We are excited about merging Olympus with Fairway Outdoor to create a truly unique asset within the outdoor advertising industry. We believe there are numerous opportunities to continue to grow Fairway Media both organically and through acquisition, in both existing and new markets,” said Tyler Zachem, Managing Director at MidOcean.

Hogan Lovells served as legal advisor to ACON. Kirkland & Ellis served as legal advisor to MidOcean.