Marketing & Advertising Acquisitions in Canada

Level, a digital marketing firm backed by private equity sponsor Dubin Clark, acquired BAM Strategy to form a unified growth platform spanning the full customer lifecycle from acquisition through loyalty. The combination brings together Level’s AI-powered performance marketing and analytics with BAM Strategy’s creative, CRM, and loyalty expertise, creating a ~250-person organization serving 150+ clients across multiple industries in North America. BAM Strategy will continue operating under its brand in the near term during the integration.

GOcxm Inc. acquired MobileXCo Inc. for an undisclosed amount to enhance its commerce marketing, shopper engagement, and retail execution capabilities for CPG brands. The deal combines MobileXCo’s mobile-first loyalty, gamification, and consumer research offerings with GOcxm’s AI-enabled retail execution and consumer engagement platform to provide a more integrated, full-funnel solution and improved ROI measurement.

Dominus Capital acquired Creative Outdoor Advertising (COA), a provider of out-of-home street-level furniture advertising solutions. COA, headquartered in Gormley, Ontario, was sold by Fulcrum Capital Partners in what marks Fulcrum’s first exit from its Fund VI.

Meticulosity acquired SummitBound Marketing, a Toronto-based HubSpot Partner and B2B inbound marketing agency. The deal expands Meticulosity’s inbound marketing and HubSpot solutions capabilities across North America, with SummitBound’s team continuing to support existing clients and co-owner Julia Hanney joining Meticulosity.

Redbrick announced it has acquired Paved, a newsletter advertising platform that connects publishers and advertisers through a premium marketplace. Paved helps publishers monetize newsletter audiences via native ad placements integrated with major email service providers, while giving brands targeted access and performance reporting.

Apply Digital has acquired personalization and MarTech agency Ragnarok for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition is intended to strengthen Apply Digital’s customer engagement, omnichannel marketing, and data-driven marketing capabilities, expanding support across the full digital lifecycle and deepening expertise with enterprise MarTech platforms.

eHouse, a multi-service commerce agency, has acquired Pointer Creative, a Shopify Plus creative and design agency based in Ottawa, Canada. The deal expands eHouse’s Shopify-focused creative, UX/UI, design, and development capabilities and follows its prior acquisitions of Commerce12 and VL OMNI.

Hover Group completed the acquisition of Black Rock Marketing Group, which now operates as BRMG. Over the year following the acquisition, BRMG began transitioning from a traditional agency structure to a brokerage-style platform supporting independent marketing professionals with shared tools, systems, and infrastructure.

Dulcedo Group, a Montreal-headquartered talent management agency, acquired Node App, an AI-powered influencer marketing platform. The deal brings Node’s technology in-house at Dulcedo to accelerate AI-enabled tools for influencer discovery, reporting, and campaign management and to expand offerings in the creator economy.

mrge, a commerce advertising and performance marketing platform backed by Waterland Private Equity, has acquired Ottawa-based performance marketing network MaxBounty. The deal adds MaxBounty’s CPA/CPL/CPI capabilities and advertiser/publisher network to mrge’s global platform as part of mrge’s expansion across North America, the EU, and SEA.

Mod Op, a full-service digital marketing agency, announced the acquisition of Canada-based full-service digital agency Evans Hunt. The deal expands Mod Op’s presence and capabilities in Canada, adding Evans Hunt’s creative, digital, and product expertise across sectors including travel and tourism, energy, and telecommunications.

Stagwell has acquired Montreal-based Luxine Relations Publiques, a full-service PR and influencer marketing agency. Luxine will join Stagwell-owned Veritas Communications to expand local-market capabilities across Canada, particularly in Quebec, and will operate under the LuxineVeritas banner.

Verndale, a Boston-based digital experience agency, acquired Yaksa, a Montréal-based digital commerce experience agency. The deal expands Verndale’s ecommerce and digital experience implementation capabilities across platforms such as Optimizely and Umbraco and strengthens its presence across the United States and Canada. Yaksa will initially continue operating under its brand before integrating into Verndale in the coming months.

Perform[cb], a portfolio company of Beringer Capital, acquired Aanicca Ventures, Inc., a performance-based online marketing provider. The transaction closed on February 1, 2024, adding Aanicca’s CPA-focused AdCommunal platform and affiliate/advertiser network capabilities to Perform[cb].

NP Digital has finalized the acquisition of REBL House, a creative and branding agency, to expand its in-house creative capabilities and strengthen its end-to-end performance marketing offering. Following the deal, REBL House will operate as NP Digital’s in-house creative division, providing brand development, influencer marketing, creative strategy, and full-service production.

Earnscliffe Strategies has agreed to acquire Kaiser & Partners, Inc. (K&P), a full-service public relations and strategic communications firm with offices in Toronto and Montreal. The deal will make K&P a wholly owned subsidiary of Earnscliffe and is expected to close on April 1, 2024; financial terms were not disclosed.

Perion Network Ltd. has completed the acquisition of Hivestack Inc., a global full-stack programmatic digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising platform. Perion paid US$100 million in cash at closing and agreed to an additional three-year employee retention and performance-based earnout of up to US$25 million (cash and equity), financed with cash on hand. The deal expands Perion’s capabilities and footprint in the fast-growing DOOH channel.

SmartBug Media, backed by American Discovery Capital, acquired Globalia, Inc., a Canadian digital agency and Elite HubSpot Partner known for systems integration and digital transformation work. The deal expands SmartBug’s technical capabilities and international reach, adding roughly 90 HubSpot experts and strengthening offerings across the HubSpot platform and e-commerce ecosystems (including Shopify). Stifel Nicolaus Canada Inc. served as exclusive financial advisor to Globalia.

Billups, a global out-of-home (OOH) technology and managed services company, acquired OOH Labs, a Canadian independent media agency focused on OOH planning and measurement. The deal expands Billups’ North American reach and enhances programmatic capabilities and access to its measurement and attribution solutions, positioning Billups as the largest independent OOH specialist agency/provider in North America.

Truelink Capital acquired Flipp Corporation, a marketing technology platform that helps retailers and CPG manufacturers automate, publish, and distribute digitally-native merchandising content. Flipp will leverage Truelink’s investment to drive innovation and accelerate growth, including potential strategic acquisitions.

Bond Brand Loyalty announced a strategic investment from private equity firm Mountaingate Capital to accelerate the company’s growth. The partnership is intended to support Bond’s continued expansion of its customer experience, loyalty, and growth offerings, including potential future acquisitions.

Half Helix, a New York-based digital agency focused on e-commerce and Shopify Plus, announced its acquisition of Able Sense, an e-commerce studio based in Halifax. The deal expands Half Helix’s full-service Shopify offering to better serve emerging, mid-market, and enterprise e-commerce brands, with Able Sense continuing to operate as a sister agency under its existing leadership.

DATA Communications Management Corp. (DCM) completed its acquisition of the Canadian operations of R.R. Donnelley & Sons (RRD Canada) for a total cash purchase price of $130.8 million, subject to customary post-closing adjustments. Following the transaction, Moore Canada Corporation (the RRD Canada legal entity) became a wholly-owned subsidiary of DCM, expanding DCM’s scale and presence in the Canadian marketing and business communications market.

Talon, a global independent out-of-home (OOH) media agency backed by Equistone Partners Europe, completed two bolt-on acquisitions: Evolve and Novus Canada, adding roughly £100m in billings to support Talon’s international expansion. Evolve is an international OOH specialist headquartered in London, while Novus Canada is a leading Canada-based OOH media agency previously owned by Novus Media LLC. Financial terms were not disclosed.

mrge, a commerce advertising platform backed by Waterland Private Equity, acquired SourceKnowledge, an open-web cost-per-click ad network and programmatic technology provider. The acquisition marks mrge’s first North American deal and adds SourceKnowledge’s programmatic capabilities, advertisers, and publisher network to expand mrge’s reach with retailers and publishers in the region.

TAAG Corporation, a multidisciplinary professional services firm based in Ottawa, acquired gordongroup (Otrex Communications Inc.) on March 14, 2023. The deal adds established marketing and design capabilities to TAAG’s suite of business services, with gordongroup staff forming a new TAAG marketing + design service line and founder Robert Chitty joining TAAG as a Senior Advisor.

Mod Op, a strategic marketing, design and communications agency, acquired Toronto-based full-service creative agency Context Creative in its first international acquisition. Context Creative will become Mod Op’s Canadian headquarters and the agency’s second non-U.S. office, with key Context Creative leaders joining Mod Op’s executive team.

CORE Foodservice, a subsidiary of Acosta, acquired Quebec-based TTS Marketing & Sales, Ltd. to expand its presence in Canada. The deal combines the organizations to create a larger, more comprehensive Canadian foodservice sales agency footprint across Quebec, Ontario, and Atlantic Canada. Leadership and associate teams from both CORE Foodservice and TTS will remain in place within CORE’s Canadian division.

The Vomela Companies acquired Total Graphics Inc., a retail and custom display graphics provider based in Burnaby, British Columbia. Total Graphics will be combined with C2 Imaging Canada ULC, an affiliate of Vomela, to strengthen C2 Imaging’s Canadian operations and expand Vomela’s North American footprint.

WPP announced it is acquiring Diff, a Montreal-based commerce agency and longtime Shopify ecosystem partner. Diff will join WPP’s Wunderman Thompson global network, strengthening WPP’s digital commerce, marketing, and technology services capabilities across North America.

Viral Nation acquired Eight Seven Media, an award-winning content production company focused on full-service video creation and monetization for brands and professional athletes. The deal will expand Viral Nation’s content capabilities into a newly created unit, VN Studio, led by Eight Seven Media founder Dylan Scance alongside executive Brandon Lentino. Financial terms were not disclosed and the acquisition is effective immediately.

Virtual, Inc. acquired inMotion DVS, Inc., an award-winning digital marketing agency headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, to expand its web, video, and digital marketing capabilities. Virtual also acquired DMI Consulting, a Massachusetts-based event production management firm, to strengthen strategic planning and on-site management support for client events.

Crowd Content Media acquired Content Refined, a content marketing platform, along with Content Refined’s subsidiary Rocket Content AI. The acquisition expands Crowd Content’s offerings into content strategy, SEO services, and AI-based products following its 2020 investment by Sage Capital and Cetina Capital.

Dentsu Canada announced the merger of Antibody, a Canadian full-service communications agency, into dentsu health, dentsu’s global integrated healthcare marketing solution. The combination is intended to accelerate dentsu health’s Canadian market presence and expand capabilities for health, wellness, and pharmaceutical marketing clients.

Zmags acquired Be A Part Of, a Toronto-based e-commerce digital agency, to expand the solutions and services available through its Creator Platform. The deal adds Be A Part Of’s design, integration, and e-commerce connector capabilities (including its MiniBC payment gateway) to help brands and retailers build and optimize digital commerce experiences faster.

Fullbay acquired Dieselmatic Digital Inc., a digital marketing agency focused on diesel repair shops, to add marketing services alongside Fullbay’s heavy-duty repair shop management software. Dieselmatic will continue operating as a standalone brand, and the companies expect a seamless transition for customers and employees. Financial terms were not disclosed.

impact.com acquired Pressboard, an analytics and reporting platform for branded content, to strengthen its publisher solutions and expand partnership opportunities between publishers and brands. Following the deal, Pressboard will join Trackonomics within impact.com to provide a more comprehensive solution for measuring and scaling sponsored, commerce, and social media content programs.

Tiny, a Canadian holding company focused on the digital agency space, acquired a majority stake in Frosty, a brand design and marketing strategy firm founded by J.D. Ostrow and Greg Stogdon. The investment is intended to help Frosty broaden its portfolio and scale its services, while enabling Tiny to deepen its exposure to fashion, sport, and branding-related work.

Urbanimmersive Inc. closed the acquisition of all outstanding shares of Agence Immophoto Inc., a high-end real estate photography agency in Quebec, for total consideration of $500,000 split between cash and Urbanimmersive shares with an earnout component tied to revenue growth milestones. The deal strengthens Urbanimmersive’s real estate photography services offering in Quebec and supports its accelerated growth plan.

Vertu Capital announced a significant investment to acquire a majority stake in PathFactory, an intelligent content platform for B2B digital marketing. The transaction includes co-investment from BDC Capital, private equity funds managed by BMO Global Asset Management, and Nicola Wealth, with Vertu Capital as the lead investor.

McOuat Partnership, a strategic real estate marketing agency, acquired Simcoe County-based The Marketing Company (TMC) to expand its full-service in-house offerings. The deal broadens McOuat Partnership’s capabilities in touch technology, hardware, and programming, and brings TMC’s Barrie office into the firm as its Northern Division.

Wondr Gaming Corp. entered into a binding definitive agreement to acquire 100% of JoyBox Media Inc., a media network and marketing agency focused on scaling brands’ digital presence and online communities. The consideration totals $1.5 million, comprised of $1.2 million in Wondr Gaming common shares and $300,000 in cash, with additional payments tied to JoyBox revenue milestones and shares subject to a 27-month escrow. The parties expect the transaction to close on or around November 5, 2021.

MERGE, a marketing and technology development agency backed by Keystone Capital Management, acquired Perkuto, a Montreal-based marketing operations provider focused on Marketo and Workato platforms. The deal expands MERGE’s marketing operations and marketing technology capabilities and strengthens its partnership ecosystem with Adobe; transaction terms were not disclosed.

Fulcrum Capital Partners made an investment in Creative Outdoor Advertising (COA), alongside multiple co-investors from Fulcrum’s Private Equity Fund VI limited partners. COA provides street furniture advertising across small and mid-sized municipalities throughout North America, and the investment is intended to support continued growth, new municipal partnerships, and acquisitions.

Hawke Media acquired Canada-based digital marketing agency Seriously Creative to expand into Canada and enhance its web design and development capabilities. Seriously Creative founder Kelly Darwin will join Hawke Media as Managing Director of Web Development, supporting broader service offerings such as website building, graphic design, and SEO.

Pluribus Technologies Inc. completed the acquisition of Pathways Training & eLearning Inc., a Toronto-based learning and development agency founded in 2006. Pathways designs and programs learning technologies including eLearning, mobile learning, gaming, animation, simulation, and virtual-reality-enabled 360° video for blue-chip clients.

Brainlabs, a digital marketing agency, has acquired Canadian programmatic agency MediaNet to expand its North American footprint. The deal strengthens Brainlabs’ programmatic and dynamic creative capabilities and adds deeper expertise in Google’s MarTech stack, with MediaNet becoming a specialist branch supporting clients across North America.

H.W. Kaufman acquired Noremac Marketing Group, Inc., a Burlington, Ontario-based provider of marketing promotional products and corporate apparel. The transaction, advised by Generational Equity, closed on August 3, 2021. Noremac’s existing leadership team will remain in place as Kaufman supports the company’s continued growth and expansion.

Urbanimmersive Inc. completed the acquisition of all outstanding shares of EGP Technovirtuel Inc. and Graphique ID Solutions Inc., and acquired the intangible assets of La Clique Mobile s.e.n.c., for an aggregate purchase price of $3.03 million. The acquired real estate photography agencies serve over 5,000 real estate agents across Canada and add capabilities including EGP’s DSLR camera HDR trigger remote capture app and subscription-based agent websites that Urbanimmersive plans to integrate into its SaaS offerings.

Wondr Gaming Corp. entered into a binding definitive agreement dated May 25, 2021 to acquire all issued and outstanding shares of Hot Dot Media Inc., an influencer marketing network across TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. The consideration is 8,000,000 Wondr Gaming common shares issued to Hot Dot Media’s shareholders at a deemed price of $0.25 per share, with closing expected on or around June 1, 2021.

Intema Solutions Inc. entered into a letter of intent to acquire 100% of Advertiise Technologies Inc., a global online advertising marketplace. Consideration includes 2.0 million Intema common shares plus up to CA$2.0 million in earnout payments tied to post-closing revenue targets, with Intema also committing at least CA$2.0 million of working capital to support Advertiise’s operations. The transaction is subject to due diligence, a definitive agreement, and regulatory approvals (including the TSX Venture Exchange).

David Centner Enterprises, led by entrepreneur David Centner, acquired Canadian negative content management and reputation management firm Guaranteed Removals. The transaction closed on December 31, 2020 and was later announced alongside the company’s rebrand to Erase.com and relocation of corporate headquarters to Miami, Florida.

Crowd Content Media, a Victoria, British Columbia-based content creation and writing services provider with an integrated software platform, was acquired by an investor group including Sage Capital and Cetina Capital. The acquisition is intended to accelerate Crowd Content’s growth and fund further investment in its platform, including new AI-enabled content creation tools; founder Clayton Lainsbury will remain involved and hold a board seat.

Red Nucleus (RN), a life sciences learning, performance, and process solutions provider backed by The Riverside Company, acquired INVIVO Communications, a Toronto-based digital scientific communications agency focused on medical affairs. The transaction, which closed in September 2020, adds scientific/medical communications capabilities to the Red Nucleus platform as an add-on acquisition.

Health Media Network (HMN) announced it has acquired all U.S.-based media assets of OFX Media Group (OFX), effective immediately. The deal expands HMN’s point-of-care advertising footprint across key U.S. physician and pharmacy locations, while OFX refocuses on its core Canadian operations.

Northern Commerce has acquired Digital Echidna, with the two Canadian digital agencies intending to merge into a single unified organization under the Northern brand by the end of the year. The combined business will expand Northern Commerce’s eCommerce and digital experience design capabilities, while the firms continue operating under separate names until the merger is completed.

WeCommerce, a Canadian e-commerce technology holding company, announced it has acquired Foursixty Inc., a Toronto-based shoppable Instagram and UGC content platform. The deal adds Foursixty to WeCommerce’s portfolio of Shopify-related apps, themes, and digital services, and Foursixty will continue to operate independently post-acquisition.

Watt International Inc. announced the acquisition of Communiqué Incentives Inc., combining an integrated retail agency with a full-service event management agency. The deal expands Watt International’s client offerings by adding Communiqué Incentives’ capabilities in event-based, interactive experiences and incentive programs.

SinglePoint Group International Inc. acquired PR Exchange Group of Companies Inc., a sales and marketing support firm focused on B2B revenue acceleration services. Under the agreement, the PR Exchange team will operate out of SinglePoint’s call centre in Toronto while continuing to do business under the PR Exchange brand.

Trendline Interactive, an email consulting and professional services firm backed by Growth Catalyst Partners, acquired Canadian email agency Inbox Marketer. The deal strengthens Trendline’s strategy, data management, and analytics capabilities and expands its combined North American team to over 140 email professionals.

LaSalle Capital and its portfolio company Gen3 Marketing acquired OPM Pros, an affiliate marketing agency based in Montreal, Quebec. The transaction combines two major affiliate marketing agencies in North America, with Gen3’s co-CEOs leading the combined business and OPM Pros’ co-founders joining senior management.

Aimia Inc. completed the previously announced sale of its subsidiary Aimia Canada Inc., which owns and operates the Aeroplan loyalty program, to Air Canada. Gross proceeds at closing were approximately $497 million (subject to post-closing adjustments), and about half of Aimia’s 2018 headcount is expected to transition to Air Canada as a result of the transaction.

NetCreations, via its Milan-based parent company Seat Pagine Gialle, acquired a 40% stake in ICOM Information & Communications, a Toronto-based direct-to-consumer and database marketing solutions provider. ICOM’s CEO and co-founder Alan Levine will remain CEO, while founders Harvey Beck and Doug McCormick retain a majority stake. Seat Pagine Gialle also received purchase options expected to lead to full ownership over the next three years.