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- Climb's M&A Weekly: Climb Advises Onfolio in Acquisition of Eastern Standard
Climb's M&A Weekly: Climb Advises Onfolio in Acquisition of Eastern Standard
3rd marketing agency deal this year w/ ONFO + deals from Epicor & more
Nick @ Climb
October 27, 2024
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Welcome to Climb Advisor’s weekly deal newsletter highlighting transactions announced last week across the B2B tech landscape. Some large transactions announced this week!
Climb Advisors is an M&A and credit advisory firm focused on B2B software and services companies in the range of $5m to $100m+ enterprise value. We guide CEOs and business owners through the process of selling their business & assist investors in sourcing & closing great deals. We love to talk markets and share beneficial information - please reach out any time.
Climb Advises Onfolio in acquisition of Eastern Standard
Onfolio (Nasdaq: ONFO), a digital holding company, closed this week on their acquisition of Eastern Standard, a Philadelphia-based marketing & web development agency serving clients including Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Cornell Law, & more. This is the third marketing agency acquisition Climb has advised Onfolio on over the last twelve months and will add more than $4m in profitable revenue alongside a great client roster & strong management & fulfilment capabilities.
The deal was structured such that Onfolio did not outlay any cash at close at the parent company level. Total purchase price was $2.16m, of which $1.25m was in the form of two promissory notes, $410k in the form of Onfolio Series A Preferred Shares, and $500k in cash via two SPVs which will own a combined 20% equity in Eastern Standard. Eastern Standard’s existing partners will retain a 10% stake in the business.
This structure is similar in nature to Onfo’s recent acquisitions of RevenueZen & DDSRank — providing immediate & long-term upside for all parties involved. Kudos to all involved. If you are a strategic or financial buyer seeking creative deal advisory please book a call or reach out via email. Read more here.
Socure Acquires Effectiv in $136 million Deal, Capitalizing on Fraud Detection Market
Overview: Socure, a leader in digital identity verification, has acquired fraud prevention platform Effectiv for $136 million, reinforcing its position in the $200 billion identity verification and fraud prevention market. Effectiv’s AI-driven technology will enhance Socure's ability to detect and mitigate fraud across the mid-market. Read more here.
Climb Comment: The intersections of AI, compliance, risk, & financial services remain some of the hottest sectors for M&A this year. Socure provides ID verification & KYC/AML solutions to more than 2,700 customers including 18 of the 20 largest banks and a range of telecoms, fintechs, government agencies, & sportsbook operators. Effectiv takes an AI-first approach to identity verification, especially for hard-to-verify populations. Effectiv was founded in 2021 and the core team previously built Simility, a fraud prevention platform which sold to Paypal for $120m in 2018. Strong play by Socure adding talent, tech, & scale.
OneMagnify Announces Acquisition of AI Marketing Firm Emodo
Overview: OneMagnify, a marketing solutions provider backed by Crestview Partners, has announced a deal for Emodo, a firm specializing in AI-powered marketing. The acquisition enables OneMagnify to embed Emodo’s advanced audience targeting and advertising solutions into its existing offerings. Emodo will continue to operate as a separate entity under OneMagnify. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Read more here.
Climb Comment: . OneMagnify has strengths across performance /digital marketing and an impressive client roster including ESPN, Boxed Water, DuPont, and more. Emodo’s core strengths are in Connected TV (CTV), with a platform providing both dynamic creative & programmatic audience targeting. In the agency space it often makes sense to acquire for core capabilities/functionalities, in this case the CTV medium. Another key consideration in marketing services is the blend between creative abilities and technological/operational fulfillment - making this transaction all the more valuable.
Epicor Finalizes Deal for Workforce Company, Acadia Software
Overview: Epicor, an enterprise software company, has acquired Acadia Software, a firm with expertise in worker solutions software. The deal will lead to Epicor incorporating Acadia’s workforce strengths, benefiting the company in terms of real-time, actionable insights. This strategic acquisition reinforces Epicor’s offering in industries such as manufacturing and distribution, by improving task management, operational efficiency, and skills development for frontline teams. Read more here.
Climb Comment: Epicor, a comprehensive enterprise platform for manufacturers and distributors, currently generates more than $1B in ARR and offers solutions ranging from ERP to cash collection & business intelligence modules now adds Acadia’s workforce management suite. Acadia customers will gain access to a broader range of capabilities & Epicor will bring Acadia’s frontline worker solutions to a broad base of customers.
Panopto Acquires Elai to enhance AI powered learning
Overview: Panopto, a provider of an AI-powered learning platform, has purchased AI text-to-video firm Elai, expanding its capabilities in automated video production and educational content. By integrating Elai’s advanced AI tools, Panopto aims to enhance its offerings for educational institutions and corporate clients, streamlining video content generation and making educational resources more accessible and engaging. Read more here.
Climb Comment: As AI video generation gets more realistic Panopto continues to innovate in the space and bring solutions to corporates around e-learning content. Elai’s text-to-video capabilities, as well as advanced storyboarding & custom avatar creation leads to even more specialized content available to enterprises at the click of a button. Truly an exciting time in technology & interesting to see the first waves of M&A in the space. Kudos to all.
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Podcasts of the week
There has been alot of discussions around the nascent space of AI agents recently and hot they will impact SaaS. We enjoyed two recent conversations that complement each other well given their respective roles at Salesforce - current CEO Marc Benioff with Ben Thompson of Stratechery here and former CEO Brett Taylor on Invest Like the Best here.
Thanks for following along & hope you found something useful or interesting. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you’re considering a sale as we move towards 2025 - we’re always glad to chat & share perspective.
All the best,
Nick