Marketing & Advertising Acquisitions in Minnesota

Marketplace-focused agency Podean has acquired Ad Advance, a Duluth, Minnesota–based retail media agency, from Permanent Equity. The deal—facilitated by Podean's private equity partner Mountaingate Capital—adds Ad Advance’s Streamline technology and retail-media/DSP capabilities to Podean’s global marketplaces platform and was announced as creating a combined business with ~260 staff across 17 countries.

NPARALLEL, a Minneapolis-based experiential marketing agency, has acquired Atomic Props and Effects LTD to combine strategy, design, fabrication and execution capabilities. The acquisition brings together complementary teams to expand experiential marketing, trade show, brand activation and OOH fabrication services and accelerate capability and creative offering for brand clients.

The Imagine Group has acquired a large temporary display and signage portfolio from Meyers Printing Company. The deal transfers Meyers' temporary display/signage team and capabilities to Imagine, expanding Imagine's visual communications capacity while allowing Meyers to focus on its core packaging and labels business.

Bold Orange Company (a Mountaingate Capital portfolio company) has acquired Journey 121, a SaaS marketing platform that supports multi-location brands with turnkey, personalized marketing programs. The acquisition expands Bold Orange's marketing technology and analytics capabilities, enabling brands and their local distribution networks (franchisees, dealers, affiliates) to deliver hyper-local, personalized promotions—Great Clips is cited as a notable Journey 121 customer.

Minneapolis-based creative agency SixSpeed has acquired longtime Minneapolis media and creative agency KC Truth. The deal brings KC Truth's integrated media strategy and global placement capabilities into SixSpeed's offering and coincides with founder Sue Kruskopf stepping back from day-to-day operations.

Cohere Capital has acquired Phaedon, the former U.S. Commercial Engagement division of ICF Next/ICF International, creating a standalone, technology-enabled digital engagement and loyalty business. Graycliff Partners provided a unitranche debt financing and equity co-investment to support the deal, with Brookside Capital Partners investing alongside Graycliff.

EventLink, a portfolio company of Fort Point Capital, has acquired Clamor, an award-winning experiential and strategic marketing agency based in Minneapolis. The add-on expands EventLink's mobile tour and experiential capabilities, bringing additional scale, creative talent, and national reach to its services.

Monomoy Capital Partners acquired Japs-Olson Company, a family-owned direct mail and commercial printing provider headquartered in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Monomoy intends to use Japs-Olson as a platform to expand in the direct mail marketing and print production sector, leveraging the company’s large-scale manufacturing capabilities and longstanding customer relationships.

Grocery TV, an in-store retail media network, has acquired Mediaworks Advertising Solutions, a Minneapolis-based provider of digital sanitizer-station displays used in supermarkets. The acquisition expands Grocery TV’s full-store product lineup and adds Mediaworks’ sanitizer dispensers and retailer relationships (including Schnucks, Cub, and Lunds & Byerlys) to Grocery TV’s network.

Independent marketing agency broadhead has acquired Minneapolis-based experiential agency Fame. The deal expands broadhead's experiential marketing capabilities and brings Fame's clients and leadership (Lynne Robertson to remain president) into broadhead's national offering.

Market Performance Group (MPG) has acquired The Creative Partners Group (The CPG) to expand its omnichannel strategy and services capabilities across Target and the broader retail marketplace. The transaction brings The CPG’s team and capabilities — including omnichannel marketplace growth, retail intelligence, category management, and creative/design — into MPG to strengthen its offerings for CPG brands and retailers.

MedTech Momentum, a full-service healthcare marketing agency based in the greater Orlando area, has acquired Wax Marketing, a St. Paul, Minnesota-based marketing communications agency. Wax Marketing founder Bonnie Harris will join MedTech Momentum as Vice President of Strategy to deepen the buyer's strategic marketing communications capabilities; financial terms were not disclosed.

On August 16, 2022, The Vomela Companies acquired Visual Impact LLC of Blaine, Minnesota. The acquisition expands Vomela’s specialty graphics and out-of-home advertising capabilities across retail, hospitality and events, complementing its existing operations across 23 U.S. and Canadian locations.

Franklin Madison, a portfolio company of Mill Point Capital, has acquired Minnesota-based direct marketing agency SeQuel Response as an add-on to its FM Engage agency services division. The deal is intended to strengthen Franklin Madison's services and capabilities in data-driven direct response and to accelerate growth for both companies and their clients.

Denver-based private equity firm Bow River Capital has completed a strategic growth investment in One10 LLC, a Minneapolis-based provider of incentives, recognition, marketing services and events. The capital will support One10's expansion of its proprietary incentive and recognition technology, broader service offerings and global growth initiatives.

The Alesco Group acquired the List Management and Brokerage business of KVK Worldwide LLC (dba TriMax Direct) in a transaction that closed on June 1, 2022. TriMax Direct, a St. Paul-based outsourced data, research and marketing agency, was sold to Alesco to expand Alesco's data management, analytics and list brokerage capabilities.

Stamats Communications acquired the Audience Management and Fulfillment business of KVK Worldwide LLC (dba TriMax Direct) in a transaction that closed on April 1, 2022. Generational Equity advised KVK/TriMax on the sale; the acquisition brings TriMax’s data, list brokerage, and fulfillment capabilities into Stamats’ digital marketing and audience-management offerings.

An investor group led by an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management has acquired ownership of IWCO Direct and completed a $55 million capital investment to strengthen the company's balance sheet. The transaction positions IWCO to expand its data-driven direct marketing solutions and appoints Gary Masse as CEO to lead growth and capability investments.

Clearview Capital Fund IV and Canopy Capital Management acquired Portu-Sunberg Marketing and merged it with their existing portfolio company I+B (Infinity Worlds and Belmont Partners) to create a leading provider of sales and marketing services for consumer brands at major U.S. retailers and e-commerce platforms. Portu-Sunberg, headquartered in Minneapolis, provides sales and marketing, creative services, data insights and account management, and will operate as a division of the combined I+B holding company.

Singapore-headquartered Capillary Technologies has acquired Minneapolis-based customer experience and loyalty company Persuade, marking Capillary's first U.S. acquisition. The deal expands Capillary's presence in North America and strengthens its loyalty and digital CX capabilities by integrating Persuade's loyalty platform and expertise.

An affiliate of H.I.G. Capital has made an equity investment in The Bluebird Group, a Minneapolis-based retail services and consulting firm. The investment will support Bluebird's expansion and development of next-generation digital insights and analytics to enhance services for consumer brands.

Bold Orange Company (BOCO), a Minneapolis-based customer experience agency, has acquired St. Paul-based digital agency Three Deep Marketing. The acquisition adds performance marketing, digital media and Salesforce Marketing Cloud implementation capabilities to Bold Orange’s existing content, UX/UI and CRM offerings to create a more complete end-to-end customer experience service for clients.

GlynnDevins, a Kansas City–based data and technology-enabled marketing firm, acquired Bluespire, an integrated marketing agency focused on regulated industries including senior living, finance and healthcare. The deal adds Bluespire's proprietary scalable services platform and marketing technology capabilities to GlynnDevins' portfolio to expand its service offering and drive client lead generation and conversion.

The Stable, a commerce and retail-launch agency, has acquired Minneapolis-based Jacobs Marketing. The acquisition folds Jacobs’ staff of more than 50 into The Stable to bolster its retail activation, analytics and insights capabilities and expand its Minneapolis footprint.

Tulsa-based Momentum3 has acquired Minneapolis/Edina-based CRC Marketing Solutions. The deal combines CRC's strategic marketing, branding, UI/UX and web development capabilities with Momentum3's software and digital services, expanding Momentum3's service offerings and regional presence.

OneTouchPoint, a managed marketing services company based in Hartland, Wisconsin, has acquired Bluewater, a Bloomington, Minnesota-based digital marketing agency. The deal brings Bluewater's online and digital capabilities into OneTouchPoint's portfolio to create an integrated end-to-end online and offline marketing solution focused on franchise and multi-unit organizations.

ComQi, a digital signage and shopper-engagement software provider (and subsidiary of AU Optronics), has acquired JohnRyan, a retail marketing agency and enterprise content management platform provider focused on financial services. Both companies will continue to operate independently under the AU Optronics umbrella while leveraging shared technology, domain expertise and geographic reach.

Gemspring Capital’s affiliate has completed simultaneous acquisitions of Skyline Displays, a provider of trade-show exhibits and event services, and TradeTec, Skyline’s largest independent dealer. The combined business will operate under the Skyline brand as Gemspring supports growth, dealer consolidation and expanded service and rental capabilities across the U.S. and internationally.