Houlihan Lokey Advises Bregal Unternehmerkapital and MEDIA Central Group
Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that funds advised by Bregal Unternehmerkapital (BU) have sold their majority stake in MEDIA Central Group, the European leader for drive-to-store marketing, to Flipp Operations Inc. (Flipp), a Canadian technology company and leader in digital merchandising. The new ownership structure will be led by majority owner Truelink Capital and will include Insight Ventures, the BU funds, and Highland Europe. The transaction closed on 25 October 2024.
MEDIA Central, the European market leader in drive-to-store marketing solutions, operates in over 25 markets and reaches more than 200 million shoppers internationally. The group unites the four companies—MEDIA Central, ShopFully, Offerista, and Yagora—offering a comprehensive 360° marketing platform across all relevant digital and offline channels, enhanced by proprietary location-based data and analytics. With more than 900 employees across locations in Europe, Australia, and Latin America, the group serves top retailers and brands in 24 countries across all industries.
Flipp, the Canadian marketing technology platform, helps retailers enhance their digital merchandising by connecting them to tens of millions of shoppers each week. The company offers tools for creating, distributing, and analyzing digital merchandising content. Headquartered in Toronto, Flipp serves over 400 retailers and CPG manufacturers in North America, with more than 400 employees across the region.
This industry-defining transaction combines the leadership and expertise of these two institutions, creating the global leader in drive-to-store marketing. For over a decade, Flipp and MEDIA Central have led the analog-to-digital transition. Their combined platforms will create an advanced digital merchandising network and shopper dataset. By integrating their networks, the two companies will serve complementary audiences, extend their global reach across 27 global markets, accelerate innovation, and enhance value for clients on a global scale. Flipp and MEDIA Central will maintain their brands and continue serving customers in their respective markets.
“Flipp is trusted by retailers and brands to provide innovative merchandising solutions in the evolving digital landscape,” says Michael Silverman, CEO of Flipp. “Shoppers expect seamless, personalized experiences across their shopper journey, spanning both in-store and online touchpoints. By merging Flipp and MEDIA Central’s expertise, we will offer a full range of drive-to-store solutions. This will ensure that shoppers are empowered with critical shopping content, while retailers and brands can leverage their promotions to drive shopper engagement.”
Stefano Portu, CEO Digital at MEDIA Central, comments: “Following the combination of MEDIA Central and ShopFully last year, this transaction presents a unique opportunity to form a global leader in drive-to-store marketing. Leveraging our unique, AI-powered marketing tech platform and investing jointly into product and technology will allow us to offer even greater value to our customers worldwide.”
Jan-Daniel Neumann, Co-Founder and Partner at BU, adds: “We have been a partner of MEDIA Central and its founder, Stefan Hamacher, for more than five years and are proud to have supported the company on its transformational journey to becoming a leading drive-to-store marketing specialist with significant international and digital net revenue share. The combination with Flipp is the logical next step for the group and will offer ample growth opportunities in the future.”
Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to BU and MEDIA Central Group.