Marketing & Advertising Acquisitions in Colorado

TobinLeff served as exclusive M&A advisor to Denver-based Karsh Hagan on its merger with Tucson-based Madden Media. The transaction combines Karsh Hagan’s creative and brand capabilities with Madden Media’s integrated media, PR and data-driven tourism expertise to expand the combined agency’s footprint and service offerings.

Bully Pulpit International (BPI) has acquired sports-focused strategic communications and consulting firm Agado Communications, effective May 1. Agado founder Mark Jones joins BPI as MD of sports to lead the agency's sports transformation business and bring client relationships into BPI’s portfolio.

Chicago-based private equity firm CIVC Partners has made a majority investment in Strategus LLC, a Denver-based managed services provider specializing in connected TV (CTV) programmatic advertising. Stellus Capital Management provided unitranche financing and an equity co-investment to support the transaction; proceeds will be used to strengthen Strategus's technology, scale operations, and pursue strategic acquisitions.

Malvern, PA-based marketing-as-a-service provider 2X has acquired Intelligent Demand, a Denver-based B2B growth strategy and execution firm. The transaction (a PE-backed platform add-on) expands 2X's MaaS capabilities—adding GTM strategy, demand generation, RevOps and onshore U.S. delivery to its subscription-based marketing services.

Gravity Global, backed by Elysian Capital, has acquired Denver-based social media agency VOCO to strengthen its organic and paid social media, content and creative capabilities. The acquisition will integrate VOCO's team into Gravity Global's global digital experience capability and support the group's full-funnel brand-to-demand services.

Granite Creek Capital Partners has made a growth capital investment in Madwire, the Fort Collins-based provider of Marketing 360, a combined marketing software and services platform for SMBs and franchises. The founders Joe and JB Kellogg will remain as co-CEOs and Granite Creek partner Brian Boorstein joined Madwire's board to support expansion, product automation, and enterprise partnerships.

Dry Fly Capital has made a majority investment in PSA Worldwide, a Colorado Springs-based provider of promotional and educational products for public health and safety campaigns. The deal was completed with debt and equity financing from Muzinich US Private Debt and Brush Creek Partners; PSA was previously owned by Brighton Partners and will pursue accelerated growth, product development and add-on acquisitions under Dry Fly's ownership.

AdCellerant, a Denver-based marketing technology and services company, has acquired Blue Orchid, a managed ad operations agency. The acquisition integrates Blue Orchid’s ad-ops and remnant-yield management capabilities into AdCellerant’s Ui.Marketing platform to expand campaign management, monetization and reporting services for publishers and advertisers.

Clearview Capital (Fund V) completed a recapitalization investment in AdCellerant, a Denver-based marketing technology and outsourced digital marketing services provider, with the transaction closing December 12, 2023. Stellus Capital Management provided unitranche senior debt financing and an equity co-investment to support the transaction; AdCellerant's founders and management retain significant equity and will continue to lead the company.

Channel Key LLC announced the acquisition of True Hero, a full-service Amazon agency headquartered in Frisco, Colorado; the purchase agreement was finalized on January 12, 2024. True Hero founder Wendi Held will remain with the business to help oversee the agency's team, and Channel Key will begin onboarding True Hero's employees and clients immediately. The deal expands Channel Key's Amazon marketplace capabilities and client offerings across retail and DSP channels.

TradePending, a Capstreet-backed sales enablement and consumer experience platform for car dealerships, has acquired Fixed Ops Digital, a marketing and technology provider for dealership fixed operations. The acquisition adds Fixed Ops' SPARK website service experience platform (used by 800+ franchise dealerships in the U.S. and Canada) to TradePending's offerings; financial terms were not disclosed and Fixed Ops' management will remain in place.

The Next Practices Group (NPG), an Austin-based founder-driven holding company, made a strategic investment in Denver-based communications agency 104 West Partners, adding the firm to NPG's network. Terms were not disclosed; 104 West will remain led by founder Patrick Ward and will augment NPG's B2B technology communications capabilities while expanding reach into markets including New York, Austin and London.

Southfield Capital's portfolio company Franchise FastLane has acquired Raintree Franchise Growth, a Denver-based full-service brand development and marketing firm serving franchisors. The deal expands FastLane's franchise development and marketing capabilities and brings Raintree's leadership into the combined organization (Brent Dowling to serve as CMO), with Raintree's owners remaining actively involved post-close.

Impact XM, a global event and experiential marketing agency headquartered in Dayton, New Jersey, has acquired MorEvents, a women-owned event management and creative agency based in Denver, Colorado. The acquisition brings MorEvents' expertise in virtual and large-scale physical events to Impact XM, expands the agency's creative and event strategy capabilities, and establishes a western U.S. office in Denver. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Kargo has acquired VideoByte, a connected TV (CTV) and OTT video advertising platform, to expand its omnichannel advertising capabilities into the CTV market. VideoByte's ad-serving technology and publisher integrations will be integrated into Kargo's platform to deliver new CTV formats and drive deeper cross-screen advertising experiences for brands and publishers.

Fusion92, a Chicago-based marketing transformation firm backed by Serata Capital Partners and Landon Capital Partners, acquired Denver-based search-centric digital agency Big Footprint in a deal completed in December. The acquisition adds organic and paid search (SEO/SEM) capabilities and leadership from Big Footprint into Fusion92's Media & Activation team to broaden the firm's end-to-end marketing transformation offering.

Toluna has acquired GutCheck, a North America-based agile market research agency, integrating GutCheck’s research methodologies and team into Toluna’s technology platform and global panel. The deal expands Toluna’s agile insights capability and strengthens its presence in North America; GutCheck was previously backed by Piper Jaffray, Rally Ventures, Grotech Ventures, and Crawley Ventures.

Tampa-based customer engagement and digital signage provider Spectrio has acquired Denver-based Ping HD, a digital signage and content company. The acquisition adds more than 35,000 screens to Spectrio’s footprint—bringing its worldwide digital signage count to over 161,000 endpoints—and brings Ping HD’s cloud-based content management and stadium/content-creation capabilities into Spectrio’s offerings.

Peak Seven, a Boca Raton full-service ad agency, has acquired Bigfoot Web, a Denver-based digital development and advertising agency. The acquisition expands Peak Seven's geographic reach to the western United States, broadens its service offering (branding, video production, stronger digital marketing and development), and will add jobs in both Denver and Boca Raton.

Denver Crowd, a Denver-based digital marketing and advertising agency, has acquired web consulting firm The Pottle Group, also based in Denver, Colorado. The deal expands Denver Crowd's local presence and client portfolio while adding website design, management and related web consulting capabilities to its service offering.

Booyah Advertising, a Denver-based full-service digital marketing agency, has acquired FiveFifty, a Denver programmatic agency, in an all-cash deal and launched a new programmatic division, FiveFifty by Booyah. The acquisition brings FiveFifty's 13-person team and ~50 clients into Booyah to expand programmatic and addressable media capabilities.

The Marketing Practice (TMP), a Horizon Capital‑backed B2B marketing group, has acquired Denver‑based strategic marketing agency 90octane to deepen its US presence and add creative, media and analytics capabilities. The deal is an add‑on to TMP’s platform as it builds a global B2B growth offering, expanding the Group’s turnover and US footprint.

IDG Communications has acquired Selling Simplified, a Marketing-as-a-Service platform that provides lead generation products, enriched B2B data and intent-driven marketing technology. The deal adds Selling Simplified’s global dataset (160M+ B2B records) and its Demandcentr platform to IDG’s MarTech stack to expand IDG’s lead-generation and intent-data capabilities.

Custom Ink has acquired Printfection, an enterprise swag management platform, to expand its branded merchandise offerings and create an end-to-end merch powerhouse. Printfection will operate largely independently under its founders while the companies integrate capabilities to serve enterprise customers more effectively.

Tenex Capital Management has made a growth investment in Suited Connector, a Colorado-based MarTech lead generation and remarketing platform. The capital will be used to accelerate organic and inorganic growth while the Suited Connector management team remains in place.

MERGE, a Keystone Capital portfolio company, has acquired Blue Moon Digital, a Denver-based performance marketing, data science, and digital agency. The deal expands MERGE's performance marketing and data science capabilities and deepens its retail, e‑commerce and pharma vertical expertise; terms were not disclosed.

Boathouse Capital has completed a growth investment in Choozle, a self-service programmatic advertising platform. The capital will be used to drive customer and revenue growth via product innovation and accelerated sales and marketing efforts.

South American omnichannel marketing platform emBlue has acquired Denver-based web design and development agency Zenman, bringing Zenman's clients and team into emBlue's US launch. The deal aims to combine emBlue's omnichannel automation capabilities with Zenman's web, content and design expertise to accelerate emBlue's entry into the U.S. market.

Hawke Media has acquired the MediaBuyers.com domain and added MediaBuyers LLC to its agency portfolio, bringing print and offline media planning and buying capabilities into Hawke’s digital-first marketing services. MediaBuyers owner Rod Hunsaker will join Hawke as an executive on the Business Development team as the companies integrate to offer expanded omnichannel media buying for clients.

Innovatus Capital Partners has acquired two agencies — Public Label and Match Retail — from Southfield Capital, expanding a newly created global marketing services platform that began with Innovatus' January purchase of VSA Partners. The deals bring creative, shopper and retail merchandising capabilities across North America and are intended to accelerate growth and broaden data/analytics and technology investments for the agencies.

NetReputation, a Sarasota-based online reputation management firm, acquired the assets of Denver-based InternetReputation.com, with the deal made official on November 20, 2020. The acquisition brings additional technology, staff and ORM capabilities to NetReputation as it expands its service offerings and geographic footprint.

Nuclear Networking, a Denver-based digital marketing agency, has acquired Altitude Agency, a Colorado digital marketing firm led by founder Sean Hakes. The deal combines complementary digital marketing and SEO capabilities to expand Nuclear Networking's local market presence and service offerings.

Xcite Automotive, a Chicago-based vehicle merchandising solutions provider, has acquired Denver-based Car Studio Pros to expand its dealership merchandising services and digital content capabilities. The acquisition adds Car Studio Pros' automated vehicle photography studios and proprietary software to Xcite's offerings, enabling higher-volume, VIN-specific interactive content for dealers, OEMs, auctions and rental companies.

Advice Media, a digital marketing and software provider for medical and dental practices, has acquired Page 1 Solutions, a Lakewood, Colorado-based digital marketing firm serving attorneys and healthcare providers. Tree Line Capital Partners provided financing for the transaction through an increase to Advice Media's term loan and an incremental equity co-investment; financial terms were not disclosed.

MULTIPLY, a data-driven social and public relations agency, has acquired UMBRLA, a full-service social content firm known for strong Instagram capabilities. Clare Advisors served as exclusive financial advisor; UMBRLA’s operations will move into MULTIPLY’s Denver office as MULTIPLY expands its New York and Denver teams.

Aware Ads, a Toronto-based online marketing company, has acquired the assets of AppThis, a Denver-based mobile technology company focused on app discovery, user acquisition and mobile monetization. The asset purchase gives Aware Ads AppThis's programmatic optimization technology, real-time bidding platform, self-serve advertiser UI and machine learning engine to expand its mobile ad capabilities and global reach.

Mercato Partners has made a growth capital investment in Altitude Digital, a Denver-based programmatic display and video advertising technology company. Vista Point Advisors acted as exclusive financial advisor to Altitude Digital in the transaction.