Equistone buys Talon Outdoor from Mayfair Equity Partners

• Talon management will retain a minority stake
• Mayfair Equity Partners bought Talon in 2017 from OmniCom Media Group
• Since Mayfair’s investment, Talon has grown its team to over 200 employees 

UPDATED: Equistone Partners Europe has bought Talon Outdoor from Mayfair Equity Partners with the management of Talon retaining a minority stake. Talon Outdoor is an out-of-home (OOH) media agency and technology services company headquartered in London. It has an OOH planning and buying network that covers 100 international markets as well as campaigns and advertising technology platforms. Its customers include McDonald’s, Apple and PepsiCo.

Equistone is a European mid-market buyouts investor focused on marketing services businesses. It added global marketing agency ADM Group in October 2021 and realised its majority stake in Inspired Thinking Group, a global marketing technology and services provider, in March. Equistone’s investment in Talon will look to drive growth through further M&A and investment in new territories.

“We have been hugely impressed by Talon Outdoor’s wealth of sector experience, strong track record and clear ambition to further scale the business, and we are excited to work with them to accelerate the investment into talent and technology on a global basis,” said Paul Harper, partner at Equistone. “OOH media has remained a robust and attractive broadcast media for brands to communicate with customers, with the market continuing to digitise and invest in programmatic solutions.”

Mayfair invested in Talon in 2017, acquiring the company from OmniCom Media Group. Mayfair is a dedicated technology and consumer investor with two private equity funds. It has assets under management of over $1.2 billion. Since Mayfair’s investment, Talon has grown its team to over 200 employees across global locations and completed four strategic acquisitions. It hired a chairman, CEO, CFO and CTO while expanding its presence in North America.

“Talon has crafted a special place in the market by focusing on delivering smarter, creative, technology-led, and integrated OOH communications,” said Daniel Sasaki, managing partner at Mayfair Equity Partners. “The Talon team have delivered exceptional growth over the last five years, underpinned by a clear vision of continuous innovation and exceptional customer service. It has been a pleasure to be their partner, providing specialist support to achieve their digital transformation and US growth ambitions.”

“We are thrilled to be welcoming Equistone and excited to be working closely with the team to support Talon’s next phase of growth,” said Barry Cupples, CEO at Talon Group. “We thank Mayfair for being a huge part of this journey. We are particularly excited for the opportunities the new Equistone partnership will create for Talon’s clients across the globe.”