Denver (2018) – Class VI Partners (formerly CapitalValue Advisors (“CVA”) is pleased to announce the acquisition of Financial Media Group (“FMG”) by Discovery Data, a portfolio company of Bregal Sagemount. Class VI served as the exclusive financial advisor to FMG.
“Working with Mark, Eric, and the entire FMG team was an absolute privilege. They’ve built an impressive company that deserves a good steward to assist in ushering it to the next level. We are excited that Discovery will continue to leverage the technology and extensive experience of FMG’s entire team moving forward,” said David Tolson, Class VI Managing Director.
“We could not have picked a better firm than Class VI to represent us. From preparing us to go to market through to close, they worked tirelessly throughout the process. Their expertise and knowledge was invaluable to us, and resulted in an outcome that exceeded every expectation,” said Eric Bender, Co-Founder and CEO of FMG.
FMG is a leading provider of database and marketing solutions to the financial services industry. Founded in 2003 by industry veterans Eric Bender and Mark Morgan, FMG has evolved from a provider of insurance agent lists to a big data aggregator with multiple database properties and ancillary marketing services. The acquisition expands Discovery Data’s client coverage to 1,200 institutions and over 20,000 users across asset managers, wealth advisors, custodians, clearing firms, insurance companies, and service providers.
“I am excited to welcome our new clients from Financial Media Group,” stated Bob Herrmann, CEO of Discovery Data. “We have accomplished a great deal in the last two years since acquiring Meridian-IQ, but there is so much more we want to do to provide value to our clients. Acquiring Financial Media Group allows us to accelerate the investments we have been making to advance our offerings even further.”
Discovery Data currently operates as a portfolio company of Bregal Sagemount, a New York-based private equity firm with more than $1.7 billion of capital allocated to investments in growth companies. “This acquisition is beneficial for both Discovery and FMG customers, as it significantly enhances the dataset, product suite, and services available. We are excited to welcome FMG to the Discovery family,” said Arjun Mehta, Sagemount Vice President.
Founded in 2002, Discovery Data offers a consolidated view of the financial services industry, including all BD and RIA firms, over 700,000 reps, 2,200 trust companies and 1.8 million insurance agents. Access is provided via subscription to an online portal and through a proprietary Salesforce app, custom API integrations, and secure HTTPS and FTP sites. In addition, Discovery Data is the industry leader in CRM data hygiene services and an expert in both data-driven market insight and marketing campaigns.
Bregal Sagemount is a growth-focused private capital firm with $1.7 billion in committed capital. Founded in 2012, the firm provides flexible capital and strategic assistance to market-leading companies in high-growth sectors across a wide variety of transaction situations. Bregal Sagemount invests $30 million to $150 million per transaction into both control and non-control positions and will make equity and/or debt investments. Targeted sectors include software, digital infrastructure, healthcare IT services, business and consumer services, and financial technology/specialty finance. For more information, please visit www.sagemount.com.
The transaction closed on May 22, 2018. Hunton Andrews Kurth served as legal counsel to Discovery Data. Goodspeed & Merrill served as legal counsel to FMG.
About Class VI Partners
Class VI provides middle-market investment banking services, including mergers and acquisitions advisory, corporate advisory, business valuation, and private capital raising services through its affiliate, Class VI Securities, LLC and Member FINRA. Class VI is also affiliated with and offers wealth management services through Class VI Family Office, LLC, a Registered Investment Advisor with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Eric Bender, Co-Founder and CEO of Financial Media Group, is a client of Class VI Partners and is not being compensated for sharing their opinion and experience with the firm. Any compensation creates a conflict of interest. Comments by Eric Bender may not be representative of any other person’s experience with the firm and are no guarantee of future performance or success.
Additional Disclosures
Investment advisory services offered through Class VI Partners’ affiliate Class VI Family Office, LLC, a Registered Investment Adviser with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission. Class VI Partners offers investment banking and private securities transactions through its affiliate, Class VI Securities, LLC. Class VI Securities, LLC is a registered broker/dealer and member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Class VI Pathfinder, LLC provides general business consulting to privately held businesses. Collectively these entities are referred to herein as “Class VI”.
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