LAKESIDE PARTNERS ADVISES INTEGRATED DIGITAL STRATEGIES ON ITS ACQUISITION BY IGNITE VISIBILITY, A PORTFOLIO COMPANY OF MOUNTAINGATE CAPITAL
Lakeside Partners (“Lakeside”), a leading boutique investment bank specializing in M&A advisory services, acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Integrated Digital Strategies (“IDS”) on its acquisition by Ignite Visibility (“Ignite”), a portfolio company of Mountaingate Capital (“Mountaingate”). Integrated Digital Strategies is a prominent digital marketing agency specializing in serving the franchisor/franchisee ecosystem. The acquisition aligns seamlessly with Ignite’s mission to become the preeminent “national-to-local” digital performance marketing agency focused on driving measurable return on investment for clients in which local discoverability is critical, including verticals such as home services, healthcare, automotive, business-to-business services, consumer services, and more.
The transaction, led by Lakeside Partners’ Managing Partner, Tom Newell, and Vice President, Chase Wichelmann, bolsters the firm’s growing business services expertise, particularly in the digital marketing and franchise space. “The IDS team has built a phenomenal business that is a true thought leader in the franchise digital marketing space,” Chase commented, “We are confident the Company’s dedication to the success of their clients through the constant optimization of their service offerings, technology, and in-house expertise will pay dividends for years to come. We are very honored to have had the chance to work with the IDS team and are excited to see their next phase of growth while partnered with the Ignite Visibility / Mountaingate Capital teams.”
Steve Galligan, Co-Founder and CEO of IDS said, “Lakeside Partners proved to be an ideal investment bank for IDS by delivering outstanding marketing, vetting of potential suitors, and finally managing the sale of our company in a manner that was an absolute win-win for all parties involved.” Joe Mohay, Co-Founder and President of IDS added, “The Lakeside team learned the most important aspects of our business and we truly appreciated their thoroughness during every step of the process. They are a high-character organization who has our best interest at heart. We couldn’t be happier with the outcome.”
Lakeside’s intimate knowledge of the digital marketing industry and longstanding industry relationships enabled the team to identify the right universe of prospective investors fostering a highly competitive marketing process. Lakeside managed all key aspects of the transaction (e.g., marketing, strategic positioning, negotiations, etc.) optimizing speed to close and ensuring an efficient and successful outcome for all parties.
Karr Tuttle Campbell served as legal counsel to IDS.
About Integrated Digital Strategies (www.idigitalstrategies.com)
IDS is an award-winning digital marketing agency that provides integrated marketing solutions for franchisors, franchisees, and franchise development teams. IDS’ team of dedicated marketers and client service professionals deliver high-performing marketing programs and strong ROI for franchise brands.
About Mountaingate Capital (www.mountaingate.com)
Mountaingate is a Colorado-based, growth-focused private equity investment firm that partners with founders and entrepreneurial companies to accelerate growth and build industry leaders. Mountaingate invests in the marketing services, business services, specialty distribution, and specialty manufacturing sectors.
About Lakeside Partners (www.lakesidepartners.com)
Lakeside, which has offices in Seattle, WA and Minneapolis, MN, provides M&A advisory services to privately held businesses. The firm has extensive expertise serving businesses across multiple industry verticals including industrial distribution, transportation & logistics, niche manufacturing, consumer products, food & beverage, business services, and technology, among many others.
For more information about our firm or this transaction, please contact:
Tom Newell
Managing Partner
tnewell@lakesidepartners.com
206.295.9746
Chase Wichelmann
Partner
cwichelmann@lakesidepartners.com
651.356.1753
Matt Holcomb
Head of Business Development
mholcomb@lakesidepartners.com
952.239.4297