CVC, TA acquire Mediaocean stake
September 1, 2021
Mediaocean, the global omnichannel advertising platform, has announced an investment from funds advised by CVC Capital Partners, along with TA Associates, who are acquiring the stake in the company held by Vista Equity Partners.
Mediaocean helps agencies and marketers manage $200 billion in annualised media spend. CVC and TA say they are committed to investing in Mediaocean’s omnichannel platform, serving as an industry system of record with independent solutions for media management, intelligence, and finance.
The investment from funds advised by CVC and TA will continue accelerating growth and driving innovation at Mediaocean, which included its acquisition of 4C last year and continued in March with the transformational launch of a new product model. By unifying its core offering from a range of software products into a modern, omnichannel platform, Mediaocean says it is enabling its customers to achieve business outcomes more efficiently and effectively.
“As Mediaocean enters its next phase of growth with CVC and TA, we are doubling down on our global omnichannel advertising platform,” said Bill Wise, CEO at Mediaocean. “Now, more than ever, agencies and their clients need an independent, open, and neutral operating system to manage media investment and grow their businesses. Mediaocean stands ready to deliver on the needs of the industry and help marketers market the way consumers consume – seamlessly across all channels at all times.”
“Mediaocean, with the recently announced acquisitions of 4C and Flashtalking, has positioned itself as the leader in providing integrated tools and analytics to ensure marketers maximise returns on ad dollars,” said Chris Colpitts, Partner at CVC, “We have been impressed by what Mediaocean has achieved to date and are delighted to partner with the management team to accelerate investment in its modern omnichannel platform.”
Chris Baldwin, Managing Partner at CVC, added: “We are committed to building a dynamic customer-facing organisation and we strongly believe helping agencies and marketers navigate the increasingly complex digital advertising landscape is critical to success. We look forward to supporting Mediaocean in working to achieve this.”
“With the rise of big tech, brands and agencies are placing more trust in Mediaocean to be the steward for their media buys,” said Jonathan Meeks, Managing Director at TA. “Through our investment in Flashtalking, we’ve seen firsthand the impact that a scaled, independent ad tech platform can have in putting buyers in control and improving campaign performance. As the companies come together, we believe that Mediaocean is primed to deliver even better results for its customers and we’re excited to help fuel further growth.”
“Over the past six years, the Mediaocean team has worked tremendously hard to scale the business into what it is today – a core media management platform to power the world of advertising,” said Michael Fosnaugh, Co-Head of the Flagship Fund and Senior Managing Director at Vista. “Today’s media landscape is ripe with opportunity for a pivotal technology provider like Mediaocean and we wish Bill and the entire team continued success with CVC and TA.”
The transaction is expected to close in Q4 2021, subject to customary closing conditions including receipt of required regulatory approvals.