Slam Acquires College Basketball Apparel Brand 19nine

Salem One (Granite Creek-backed) Acquires SmashBrand

April 9, 2026

Marketing & Advertising

Salem One, a portfolio company of Granite Creek Capital Partners, announced it has acquired SmashBrand, a fully integrated brand development agency focused on consumer-packaged goods (CPG). SmashBrand will continue operating under its own brand, leadership team, and proprietary methodology while Salem One brings complementary marketing execution capabilities.

Nineteen Group Acquires The Lead

January 6, 2026

Media & Entertainment

Nineteen Group has acquired The Lead, a U.S.-based media and events business focused on executive-level retail and brand leadership forums. The acquisition expands Nineteen Group’s presence in the U.S. retail events market and aims to scale The Lead's flagship events, community and editorial offerings while preserving the brand's continuity.

Front Nine Capital Acquires Rollins Apparel

October 16, 2025

Manufacturing

Front Nine Capital, doing business as Star Print & Embroidery, has acquired Rollins Apparel, a Gainesville, Florida-based custom apparel and promotional products provider. Rollins will retain its brand and customer service in Gainesville while production is migrated to Star Print & Embroidery's West Nyack, New York facility as part of Front Nine's ongoing roll-up strategy to expand customer verticals (education, nonprofit, sports, religious) and scale operations.

Youth Enrichment Brands (Roark) Acquires i9 Sports from LNC Partners

October 19, 2021

Education

i9 Sports, a Tampa-based franchisor of multi-sport youth leagues, has been acquired by Youth Enrichment Brands, a platform company backed by Roark Capital. The deal marks an add-on acquisition to the Youth Enrichment Brands platform as LNC Partners exits its investment; i9 Sports' management will remain in place to support continued growth across its nationwide footprint.

Spectrio Acquires Sixteen:Nine

September 14, 2021

Media & Entertainment

Spectrio, a Tampa-based customer engagement and digital signage provider, acquired Sixteen:Nine, the long-running digital signage blog and podcast produced by David Haynes. Haynes will remain as editor while Spectrio seeks to leverage the publication’s industry insight and content to enhance its digital signage solutions and better serve its enterprise and franchise clients.

The Nine Acquires Crossland Communication

June 29, 2021

Marketing & Advertising

Tuscaloosa-based web design and digital marketing agency The Nine has acquired Crossland Communication, a brand content firm headquartered in Pensacola, Florida. The acquisition expands The Nine's content and customer-experience capabilities (including the integration of the Vox Verba AI-assisted marketing tool) and adds a Pensacola location to its footprint.