Business Insider features Ciesco Global M&A Review 2020

“PE firms are now competing with ad holding companies like WPP and Omnicom for acquisitions and ad dollars. And analysts say 2021 could be one of the biggest years on record for PE-driven deals.”

Ciesco 2020 Global M&A Review was featured in this article in Business Insider, by Patrick Coffee.

• PE was involved in 42% of marketing and tech deals in 2019, up from 17% in 2017, with only a 5% drop in 2020 due to the pandemic.
• Many agencies acquired by PE firms go on to buy complementary businesses. For example, New Mountain Capital acquired healthcare-focused W2O Group from smaller Mountaingate Capital in 2019, and W2O has since made a string of buys including two data firms in January.
• PE firms like Insignia, Mountaingate, and Shamrock Capital acquired agencies along with WPP and agency network S4 Capital in the beginning of 2021, and analysts predict they’ll get more aggressive.
• Agencies in red-hot areas like e-commerce and data analytics are driving the deal interest, but industry insiders said even design firms and production companies are getting offers.