Vector, Trinity Hunt buy into digital marketing; OceanSound bets on fintech; TPG acquires OneOncology from General Atlantic

Good morning dealmakers, thank goodness it’s Friday!

It’s Obey Martin Manayiti here with the newsletter.

To cap off the week, I am looking at six recent digital marketing and digital advertising deals that have caught PE investors’ attention.

I will also look at the OceanSound Partners’ portfolio company CFM. The company, which helps banks and credit unions with digital transformation, recently merged with two other complementary companies and also appointed a new CEO, Stephen Baker, to strengthen its capacity in the market.

There is also news of General Atlantic exiting Nashville-based OneOncology, a network of oncology practices, to TPG and AmerisourceBergen, as well as Ronin Equity Partners forming Lotus Beverage Alliance, a craft beer maker, after merging six companies this week.

Digital marketing
The sector, which involves using the internet, mobile and other technology to reach customers, has become increasingly sophisticated over the years. Today, it encompasses a wide range of tactics and technologies, including social media marketing, search engine optimization, content marketing, influencer marketing, affiliate marketing, email campaigns and paid advertising.

Private equity firms continue to invest in companies that provide digital marketing services. These businesses are scalable, profitable, flexible and cost-effective, say PE investors.
PE Hub has seen a slew of investments in this sector since the beginning of the year. One was announced just this morning:

Unlock Health, a healthcare technology and services growth platform, today announced its formation through the combination of Eruptr, a provider of healthcare digital marketing tools, and DECODE, a digital and creative agency focused on healthcare. Unlock Health aims to solve healthcare organizations’ urgent need for growth while driving long-term, sustainable performance. The platform is backed by Amulet Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity investment firm focused exclusively on the healthcare sector, and Athyrium Capital Management, a specialized asset management company focused on opportunities in the global healthcare sector. Amulet bought Eruptr earlier this year.

Here are details on three more digital marketing deals:

In March, Mood Media, an Austin-based portfolio company of San Francisco-based Vector Capital acquired Vibenomics, an in-store digital advertising provider headquartered in Fishers, Indiana.

Mood Media provides on-premise media software to more than 500,000 business locations in more than 140 countries through a cloud-delivered content platform, including curated music, messaging, digital signage, content management and scent marketing, said the company.

Also in March, Dallas-based Trinity Hunter Partners made a majority investment in Supreme Optimization, a San Juan, Puerto Rico-headquartered digital marketing agency focused on life sciences.

The investment will assist Supreme to accelerate its growth.

“Our team is impressed with Supreme’s unique culture and ability to achieve outsized growth outcomes for its clients,” said Mike Steindorf, partner at Trinity Hunt. “We look forward to building on Supreme’s strong foundation as we scale the business both organically and through M&A.”

Mountaingate Capital, a Denver, Colorado-headquartered PE firm invested in Ignite Visibility, a La Jolla, California based digital marketing agency that supports enterprises through engine optimization, paid media execution, social media marketing, email marketing and more.

“Ignite has an exceptional track record of revenue growth, a diverse client base, and an award-winning approach. Ignite is well-positioned to continue to disrupt the industry,” said Trent Sisson, Mountaingate’s managing director.

For more digital marketing deals, see my story, published earlier this morning on PE Hub.

Fintech
OceanSound Partners is lining up its portfolio company CFM to tap into the growing demand for digital transformation from banks and credit unions, Ted Coons, partner and co-founder of the New York-based PE firm told me this week.

CFM, a Tempe, Arizona-headquartered company recently merged with NXTsoft and IMM, all fintech companies that provide banks and credit unions with API connectivity, workflow automation and data analytics software.

“Our combined platform is experiencing increased demand as financial institutions are under pressure to simultaneously accelerate fintech adoption and reduce operating costs. We help them expedite their digital transformation,” said Coons.

CFM said it works with over 2,500 banks and credit unions in North America. To strengthen its operations, the company appointed Stephen Baker as chief executive, effective May 1.
Opportunities for CFM are twofold, first coming from the credit union side and then on the banking side, Coons told me.

If banks consolidate to build stronger capabilities, that could also increase demand for CFM’s products. The US has several thousands of banks on the market.

“When banks grow via acquisition, it heightens the need for our connectivity solutions as they need to migrate data, standardize their IT systems and conform their fintech strategy,” he said. “They end up paying us more because of our pricing model, which is based on amount of assets or number of branches.”

As for credit unions: “They are required to invest all their dollars back into their business to serve their members. As a result, they embrace innovation, making them excellent customers for the combined platform.”

Cancer care
TPG and AmerisourceBergen Corporation have agreed to acquire Nashville-based OneOncology, a network of oncology practices, from General Atlantic. With this deal, TPG will acquire a majority stake in OneOncology, and AmerisourceBergen will take a minority stake in the company.

The transaction puts OneOncology at a valuation of $2.1 billion and is expected to close by the end of September.

General Atlantic invested in OneOncology in 2018. “We are proud that this mission-driven approach has resulted in a leading oncology platform that empowers high-quality and innovative cancer care in the community setting. We wish Dr. Patton and the OneOncology team continued success in their next phase of growth,” said Justin Sunshine, managing director at General Atlantic in a press statement.

Happy hour for the weekend

New York City based-Ronin Equity Partners this week formed Lotus Beverage Alliance, a craft beer maker after merging six companies: Alpha Brewing Operations, GW Kent, Twin Monkeys, Stout Tanks and Kettles, Brewmation and Automated Extractions.

The new company has locations in Lincoln, Nebraska, Ypsilanti, Michigan, Denver, Colorado, Portland, Oregon, Hopewell Junction and New York.

The six companies have a combined value of $100 million. Ronin owns the majority of Lotus while founders and management hold a significant double-digit ownership percentage. Ronin has also implemented an equity incentive program throughout the organization that extends to even the most junior employees, said the company.
Ronin managing partner and co-founder Jesse Yao will be embed as Lotus’ CFO.

“We are thrilled at the prospect of uniting a fragmented craft beverage supply landscape through a remarkable alliance of industry partners.” says Yao. “By embedding Ronin executives in the back office, our corporate partners can concentrate more fully on expanding their product range and increasing sales.”

That’s it for me today. You can reach out to me at obey.m@peimedia.com.

MK Flynn will be back with the Wire on Monday.

Have a great weekend.

Cheers,

Obey