Marketing & Advertising Acquisitions in 2017

Woodinville, Washington-based Bensussen Deutsch & Associates (BDA) has acquired Boston-based promotional merchandise firm SwervePoint. The deal expands BDA’s East Coast footprint and service offerings; SwervePoint will be rebranded as BDA and its co-founders have joined BDA’s leadership to support the integration and continuity of client services.

Impact XM, a portfolio company of AGI Partners LLC, has acquired Atlantic Exhibits, a full-service trade show exhibit and event firm. The deal expands Impact XM’s experiential marketing capabilities and footprint across the Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Richmond/Tidewater markets; terms were not disclosed.

Paskill Stapleton & Lord (PS&L) has entered a corporate partnership with JPL, a full-service integrated marketing agency based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Clare Advisors served as exclusive financial advisor to JPL. The transaction, which closed June 30, 2017, retains PS&L's existing offices and staff while adding JPL's ~100-person creative, web development and media production capabilities to expand PS&L's higher education and Mid-Atlantic market presence. As part of the deal, partner John Stapleton will retire.

AcuityAds Holdings Inc. completed the acquisition of Visible Measures Corp., a Boston-based programmatic video analytics and ad-tech platform, acquiring 100% of its outstanding stock for approximately US$10 million in upfront cash. The deal, funded through a bought deal offering and a revolving credit facility, adds Visible Measures' MRC-accredited video measurement and True Reach analytics to AcuityAds' programmatic marketing platform to expand its video advertising capabilities.

Inuvo, Inc. acquired NetSeer, Inc., a provider of visual monetization and in-image advertising technology, under an Asset Purchase Agreement. Inuvo issued 3.53 million shares of INUV common stock and assumed specified liabilities, adding NetSeer's ad-technology, consumer interest data, direct publisher relationships and programmatic capabilities to its product suite.

Ebates, the San Francisco-based cashback shopping and loyalty marketplace (a subsidiary of Rakuten), has acquired Cartera Commerce, a Lexington, Massachusetts-based provider of loyalty marketing solutions and rewards programs. The deal expands Ebates' loyalty marketing capabilities and brings Cartera's merchant, card issuer and airline partnerships and offer platform into Ebates' portfolio.

Deluxe Corporation acquired First Manhattan Consulting Group (FMCG Direct), a New York–based data-driven marketing services and analytics firm, on December 30, 2016 for $200 million. The acquisition brings FMCG Direct's marketing analytics, campaign design and execution capabilities into Deluxe's Financial Services segment to enhance client acquisition, cross-sell and customer retention for financial institutions.