Deal Timeline

Plotted by close date where disclosed, otherwise announcement. Select any marker to jump to the deal entry.

The Acquisition Playbook.

Three patterns run through Advantage Solutions's acquisitions — what it looks for, how it pays, and how it folds in what it buys.

01
Acquisition criteria
Growth by acquisition, mostly in bulk.
Advantage describes itself as having grown in significant part by acquiring quality businesses; excluding Daymon, it disclosed completing 73 acquisitions between January 2014 and February 28, 2023, individually ranging from roughly $0.3 million to $98.5 million. The vast majority are small sales- and marketing-agency tuck-ins disclosed only in aggregate — six businesses (~$76.0M) in 2021, four (~$75.5M) in 2022, for example — and are never separately named or valued; only the material or otherwise notable transactions, Daymon and the Take 5 Media Group deal below, are itemized individually.
Daymon Worldwide Inc.Take 5 Media Group
02
Capital deployment
One transformational platform deal.
The December 2017 Daymon Worldwide acquisition — about $671.1 million, settled entirely in equity — stands apart from the tuck-in program and pushed Advantage beyond outsourced sales and marketing into retailer-centric services such as private-label development, merchandising and experiential marketing. It added $460.3 million of goodwill and $331.1 million of identifiable intangibles to the balance sheet.
Daymon Worldwide Inc.Take 5 Media Group
03
Integration approach
Acquisition risk made concrete.
The 2018 Take 5 Media Group deal shows the downside of an active tuck-in strategy: after a 2019 investigation found misconduct, Advantage terminated the business, restated its 2018 financial statements, made a voluntary disclosure to the U.S. Attorney's Office and FBI, and recovered $7.7 million under representation-and-warranty insurance — the 'Take 5 Matter' the company has repeatedly flagged as a risk factor.
Daymon Worldwide Inc.Take 5 Media Group

The Full Deal Book

2 acquisitions — each with the deal value, financing structure, target revenue, and executive commentary where disclosed.

01 Daymon Worldwide Inc. · North America, with certain business units operating outside North America. $671.1M
Closed Dec 2017 All-equity
Private-label development and managementretail merchandisingexperiential/in-store demonstration and samplingand other retailer-centric services

Daymon Worldwide was a leading provider of retailer-centric services, spanning private-label brand development and management, merchandising, and experiential marketing (including in-store product demonstration and sampling). Advantage completed the acquisition on December 18, 2017 for total consideration of about $671.1 million in issued equity, expanding beyond its core outsourced sales and marketing agency work into services sold directly to retailers. The purchase-price allocation assigned $331.1 million to identifiable intangibles (chiefly client relationships and trade names) and $460.3 million to goodwill. Certain Daymon business units operate outside North America and are subject to purchase arrangements with Advantage's partner Smollan and its joint venture. Approximately $671.1 million total consideration, satisfied entirely through the issuance of equity; the purchase-price allocation recorded $460.3 million of goodwill and $331.1 million of identifiable intangible assets (including $235 million of client relationships and $90 million of trade names). Advantage also assumed roughly $207 million of Daymon debt, which it later refinanced.

Why it was attractive
  • An established retailer-centric services platform (private label
  • merchandising
  • experiential marketing) that extended Advantage's offering beyond outsourced sales and marketing and deepened its retailer relationships
In December 2017, we completed the Daymon Acquisition, a leading provider of retailer-centric services, including private label development and management, merchandising and experiential marketing services.Advantage Solutions Inc. Form S-1 (filed November 2020) — Daymon Acquisition disclosure
02 Take 5 Media Group $81.6M
Closed Apr 2018 Asset purchase
Digital marketing and media services

Take 5 Media Group was a digital marketing and media business that Advantage acquired on April 1, 2018 for total consideration of about $81.6 million. Following a 2019 investigation that identified misconduct at the business, Advantage terminated all Take 5 operations, ceased using its trade names, and offered refunds to Take 5 clients. The company determined that Take 5's fiscal 2018 revenues had been improperly recognized and restated its previously issued 2018 financial statements. Advantage voluntarily disclosed the misconduct to the U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI, pursued arbitration against Take 5's former owners, and in May 2020 recovered $7.7 million under its representation-and-warranty insurance policy. $81.6 million total consideration, including $4.6 million fair value of contingent consideration and $0.8 million of holdback liabilities.

Why it was attractive
  • Added digital marketing and media capability to Advantage's marketing segment
On April 1, 2018, the Company acquired certain assets and assumed liabilities of Take 5 Media Group (“Take 5”) for total consideration of $81.6 million, including the fair value of contingent consideration of $4.6 million and holdback liabilities of $0.8 million.Advantage Solutions Inc. FY2020 Form 10-K — Take 5 Matter note

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