AEA Elevate Acquires 829 Studios

CIVC Partners Invests in 829 Studios

September 28, 2021

Marketing & Advertising

Chicago-based private equity firm CIVC Partners has invested in Boston-based digital marketing agency 829 Studios, partnering with founders Peter Ross and Nick Riotto who will retain significant ownership and remain in management. Stellus Capital Management provided unitranche senior financing and an equity co-investment to support the transaction; the partnership is intended to accelerate 829's organic growth and support add-on acquisitions.

Elevate Acquires Downstream and GA

December 18, 2025

Professional Services

Elevate has acquired experiential design studio Downstream and luxury hospitality design studio GA, combining the firms into an expanded Elevate Creative with more than 250 designers, technologists, and strategists across North America, Europe, and Asia. The deal broadens Elevate's capabilities in immersive digital experiences and luxury hospitality design and appoints Chris Allphin as President of Elevate Creative.

Park Cities Asset Management Affiliate to Acquire Elevate Credit

November 16, 2022

Payments & Fintech

Elevate Credit (Elevate) entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of Park Cities Asset Management LLC in an all-cash transaction valued at an implied $67 million ($1.87 per share). The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023, subject to customary conditions, including shareholder and regulatory approvals.

Echelon Fitness Acquires FORTË and Rebrands It as ELEVATE by Echelon

July 21, 2025

Cloud & SaaS

Echelon Fitness has acquired FORTË, a B2B fitness streaming SaaS platform, and will relaunch the business as "ELEVATE by Echelon" to expand its enterprise and commercial fitness offerings. The acquisition brings FORTË's live and on‑demand streaming technology, proprietary hardware, and a global customer footprint (457,000 users across 39 countries) into Echelon's portfolio to accelerate capability and market expansion in SaaS and commercial fitness.

AEA Growth Invests in Bespoke Partners

July 21, 2022

Professional Services

AEA Growth, the growth-investing arm of AEA Investors, has made a strategic growth investment in Bespoke Partners, a San Diego–based retained executive search and leadership advisory firm focused on enterprise software. The capital will help Bespoke scale its team, further leverage technology in its services, and expand its offerings while founder Kristie Nova remains as Founding Partner and Eric Walczykowski serves as CEO.

Executech Acquires Elevate

November 15, 2021

IT Services

Executech, backed by Evergreen Services Group, has acquired Elevate, an IT support provider based in Richland, Washington. The Elevate team (led by CEO Paul Carlisle) will join Executech as the Tri-Cities office, expanding Executech's geographic reach and access to cybersecurity and cloud services.