Marketing & Advertising Acquisitions in 2015

EQT Mid Market has agreed to partner with management to acquire FocusVision, a provider of technology-enabled quantitative and qualitative market research solutions. EQT plans to support FocusVision’s domestic and international growth via investments in sales, product innovation, acquisitive growth and platform integration; FocusVision is headquartered in Connecticut with more than 300 employees and offices worldwide.

Memphis-based Archer Malmo has acquired Austin-based digital marketing agency Tocquigny and will rebrand the Austin office as Archer Malmo. The deal expands Archer Malmo’s geographic footprint into Austin and adds digital, web and mobile capabilities; Tocquigny leaders Yvonne Tocquigny and Tom Fornoff will continue to lead the Austin office.

LocalVox has acquired MarketMeSuite and integrated its social monitoring, posting, and analytics technology into a new Social Inbox embedded within LocalVox’s local marketing platform. The acquisition expands LocalVox’s social CRM and monitoring capabilities for small businesses, franchises and partner agencies, and follows LocalVox’s earlier acquisition by TBC Holdings.

Pursuant, a full-service fundraising agency, has acquired Texas-based fundraising automation software company 2DIALOG, effective March 1, 2015. Pursuant intends to invest in and integrate 2DIALOG's donor discovery, upgrade solutions and multichannel fundraising tools to expand its technology-enabled services for nonprofit clients.

AGI Partners LLC made an additional investment in its portfolio company Aura XM as Aura XM merged with Impact Unlimited to launch the new global experiential marketing agency, Impact XM, headquartered in New Jersey. The transaction is intended to expand the combined company's operational, creative and digital engagement capabilities and strengthen its global footprint across event, trade show and activation channels. Terms were not disclosed.

Influence Health, a Birmingham-based provider of an integrated digital consumer engagement platform, has acquired BrightWhistle, an Atlanta-based healthcare-specific digital marketing platform. The acquisition adds BrightWhistle's Facebook, paid search and patient remarketing capabilities (offered as SaaS and managed services) to Influence Health's marketing platform to boost patient acquisition and engagement for healthcare clients.

Nexstar Broadcasting Group acquired 100% of Yashi, Inc., a location-focused online video demand-side platform, for $33.0 million in an accretive transaction announced February 2015. The purchase expands and diversifies Nexstar's digital media and programmatic video advertising capabilities, combining Yashi's targeting technology with Nexstar's local sales footprint.