WestView Capital Takes Minority Stake in Resource Interactive

WestView Capital Partners has made a minority investment in Resource Interactive. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. Columbus, Ohio-based Resource is an interactive marketing agency.  BlackArch Partners advised Resource Interactive.

PRESS RELEASE

BlackArch Partners is pleased to announce that Resource Interactive, a leading interactive marketing agency specializing in social media marketing, mobile and digital commerce, has partnered with WestView Capital Partners as a minority investor.
BlackArch was retained by Resource Interactive’s shareholders to serve as the exclusive financial adviser for the transaction.  Terms of the investment were not disclosed.
Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Resource Interactive is at the forefront of the digital marketing industry thanks to the company’s demonstrated ability to connect consumers with brands and create commerce opportunities.  Clients include Procter & Gamble, Hewlett-Packard, Victoria’s Secret, Sherwin-Williams and Nestlé.
Nancy Kramer, who founded Resource Interactive and now serves as Chairman and Chief Culture Officer, will continue to run the company, along with Chief Executive Officer Kelly Mooney.
BlackArch Managing Directors Matt Salisbury and Kelly Katterhagen led the firm’s team in providing Kramer and Mooney with a menu of strategic alternatives, showing how each would interact with their priorities for the company.  Kramer and Mooney chose to pursue a Transitional Capital transaction that was tailored to their desire to maintain Resource Interactive’s independence while finding a partner who could help the company focus on developing new offerings and capabilities, as well as enter new geographies.
Leveraging BlackArch’s proprietary database of investors who focus on minority partnerships, as well as the firm’s expertise in Applied Technology & Digital Media and Business & Professional Services, the BlackArch team generated a targeted list of investors to approach that was based on relevant industry experience, history of minority investments and likely cultural fit with Resource Interactive.
“The BlackArch team is the best!” Kramer said.  “They delivered every step of the way, from laying out a full range of alternatives, formulating strategy, identifying partners, tailoring unique employee incentive plans and negotiating the final agreement.  They are true professionals that do exactly what they say – and then more.”
Resource Interactive (www.resource.com) is one of the nation’s top-rated independent digital marketing agencies – named No. 4 on Ad Age’s A-list of top agencies in 2010. With offices in Columbus, Cincinnati and Palo Alto, the firm leads Fortune 500 companies and helps them capitalize on today’s digital economy, creating consumer experiences that drive sales for reputable brands. Now in its 30th year, Resource is the largest women-owned agency in the nation.
WestView Capital Partners (www.wvcapital.com) is a Boston-based private equity firm focused exclusively on lower middle-market companies.  WestView partners with existing management teams to sponsor minority and majority recapitalization, buyout, growth and consolidation transactions.
BlackArch Partners is a middle-market investment bank offering a full spectrum of advisory services.  The firm offers a full suite of investment banking advisory services to Financial Sponsors and Diversified Corporations and addresses the needs of entrepreneurs, founders and shareholders of Private Companies with specialized services that include Strategic Advisory and Private Capital solutions, as well as M&A advisory work.  Based in Charlotte, N.C., BlackArch covers all industries of interest to middle-market investors and its professionals have closed deals in 16 countries on four continents.  Please visit our website, www.blackarchpartners.com, for more details.

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