The development of the Adwanted Group, founded in 2012, is based on an active strategy of complementary and targeted acquisitions, allowing it to reach critical size more quickly and to create numerous commercial and technological synergies.
Since starting as a transactional solution provider, Adwanted Group has evolved into a leading software provider for the advertising and media industry (media planning, ad intelligence, data, inventory management, news media).
Supported until now by international business angels, Adwanted Group marks a new chapter with the arrival of Financière Arbevel and Swen Capital, which allows it to double in size with the acquisition of Mediatel Limited in the UK.
Mediatel’s services and technologies complement Adwanted Group’s offering, which is structured around three categories: “Buy Side” (DSP, media planning, events, etc.); “Sell Side” (SSP/booking software, on-air conductor, events, etc.); and “Data”, which brings together audience data and the information tools needed to decipher it. The acquisition of Mediatel allows Adwanted to strengthen its international presence and to export its technology and data solutions to the UK, where it was not previously present.
INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING TOWARDS 2024
“Our plan is very clear, and we are aiming for an IPO within 3-4 years in order to achieve our ambition to grow from a regional advertising and media technology provider to a global leader,” says Emmanuel Debuyck, the founder and CEO of Adwanted Group.
The advertising software market is highly fragmented, with a few players largely dominating the digital advertising segment; but the ‘traditional’ market is consolidating and Adwanted Group is determined in playing a central role in this consolidation process.
“We attract and aggregate national champions within the group in a world where standardization is not yet present (unlike digital advertising), even though buyers demand it,” says Debuyck. “The same is true for media companies, which must now facilitate access to their traditional inventories to avoid the rush to digital – which is very easy to buy, but whose performance scores are still far from matching those ‘traditional’ media that are totally reinventing themselves.”
“What is interesting is that the more we expand our group, the more we appear as a magnet for independent players in our industry: since the end of last year, no less than 10 companies approached us to join our ecosystem,” adds Debuyck.
Swen Capital Partners and Financière Arbevel will help the group further solidify and structure its development, allowing the company to access new markets or execute acquisitions faster. Adwanted Group is looking at strengthening its position in the U.S. and Europe (with Germany being a target).
BECOMING A WORLD LEADER IN ADVERTISING INDUSTRY TECHNOLOGIES
Thanks to this acquisition, Adwanted Group now has a turnover of €20 million and a solid base in France, the United States and the United Kingdom, and intends to consolidate its positions in these regions and in Europe through additional acquisitions.
“Integrating Mediatel within Adwanted Group allows us to pursue our business objective of providing the media industry with a global standard,” says Debuyck. “Being in France and the US is obviously a good place to start, but playing on a global stage also requires a strong footprint in the UK before any further expansion. We are now in three of the largest advertising markets in the world.”
For more information about Adwanted Group, please visit adwanted-group.com.
TESTIMONIALS:
Loïc Jouan, Managing Director at Financière Arbevel declares: “We are very happy to be able to give Adwanted the means to continue its international expansion. We have been seduced by the management team and a project in line with our convictions: supporting SMEs in their development and growth projects to make them leaders in their sector.”
Diego Aponte, Managing Director at SWEN Capital Partners, says: “Adwanted has developed strongly over the past few years in France and internationally. With the acquisition of Mediatel (UK), the group has demonstrated its ambition to become the reference in its market. We are delighted to support Emmanuel and the entire team in this new phase.”
Laurent Mouflin, Partner at Pax Corporate Finance, says: “We are delighted to have participated in this very structuring transaction for Adwanted Group and to have brought together management in New York and investors in Paris to enable the acquisition of a target in London.”
André Coste, Founder and Managing Partner of Lazare Consulting LLC, says: “We have been advising Adwanted Group on their growth strategy and development since 2016. After the acquisitions of Carthage, CSE and OFFREMEDIA in France, and SRDS in the United States in March 2020, the acquisition of Mediatel allows Adwanted Group to take a strong position in the UK market and should drive synergies between the US, UK and France.”
STAKEHOLDERS:
Target Company:
MEDIATEL GROUP, Derek Jones
Company:
ADWANTED GROUP, Emmanuel Debuyck
Investors:
SWEN CAPITAL PARTNERS: Jérôme Delmas, Diego Aponte Vargas, Valentine Fauroux
FINANCIERE ARBEVEL: Thibault Prebay, Ghada Kneisel, Loic Jouan
Target, Corporate Lawyer:
SHERRARDS SOLLICITORS, LONDON: Jean-Paul Dacosta
Investors, Corporate Lawyer:
FIELDFISHER (Swen): Jean-Baptiste Van De Voorde, Manon Pierre, Sonia Dib
FIELDFISHER UK: Oliver Abel Smith
ARCHERS (Arbevel): Emily Pabot Du Chatelard, Thomas Juillard, Helene Testeil
Investors, DD Tax:
FIELDFISHER: Antoine Gabizon, Cédric Pavao
Investors, Social DD:
FIELDFISHER: Laurence Dumure-Lambert, Orianne Maurin
Investors, DD Contracts:
FIELDFISHER: Anne-Laure-Hélène Des Ylouses, Lauren Mechri
Investors, DD Intellectual Propert:
FIELDFISHER: Nathalie Hadjadj-Cazier, Marina Poudevigne
Investors, DD Financials:
ODERIS CONSULTING: Julien Passerat, Augustin Dupont, Manon Assens
Investors, DD Technical:
KERISIT CONSULTING: Jean-Marc Kerisit
Company, Investment Bankers:
LAZARE CONSULTING: André Coste, Julie Comer
PAX CORPORATE FINANCE: Laurent Mouflin, Simon Petit, Damien Allard
Company, Corporate Lawyers:
LG AVOCATS (Lille): Liliane Gorczyca
NME LAW (UK): Nigel Jones, Samantha Cozen
Company, DD Legal Acquisition:
NME LAW (UK): Nigel Jones, Samantha Cozen
Company, DD Tax Acquisition:
MOORE & SMALLEY (UK): Colin Abrahams
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