September 2016
Zeta
Petsky Prunier advises Zeta Global on its acquisition of Acxiom's Email Services Unit
Fast-Growing, Enterprise SaaS Company Continues to Fuel Rapid Growth and Marketplace Disruption
September 6, 2016 (New York, NY) – Petsky Prunier is pleased to announce that it has advised Zeta Global, one of the largest big data and analytics-driven marketing technology companies, on its completed acquisition of Acxiom Impact from Acxiom Corporation (NASDAQ: ACXM). Zeta announced its agreement to acquire the company on August 4, 2016, and completed the transaction on August 31, 2016.
Over the past three years, Zeta has invested heavily into extending and enhancing its SaaS-based marketing platform through organic initiatives and strategic acquisitions, such as the purchase of the CRM division of eBay Enterprise, marketing automation platform pioneer ClickSquared, and the Actions division of Adchemy, along with its patented machine learning platform. Zeta’s recently announced $45 million financing will fuel the integration of Acxiom Impact into Zeta's Gartner Magic-Quadrant-rated platform, grow its market penetration in the U.S., U.K., and international markets, and accelerate the company's strategic acquisition strategy.
Combining Acxiom Impact with Zeta creates a top-tier player in the fast-growing marketing cloud sector. The two companies' complementary assets and capabilities, award-winning technology platforms, and laser focus on delivering results for the world's largest brands provide enterprises with more options, as they navigate an increasingly complex digital marketing landscape. The combined company works with blue-chip brands in the highest value verticals, including retail, financial services, communications, automotive, and insurance, among others.
As part of the agreement, Zeta has entered into a long-term strategic partnership with Acxiom. This will ensure a seamless transition for Acxiom Impact's Fortune 1000 clients, while strengthening the ongoing delivery of integrated solutions that combine Zeta’s cross-channel campaign execution expertise with Acxiom's strength as the data foundation for the world's best marketers.
Founded by David Steinberg and John Sculley (former CEO of Apple Computer and Pepsi-Cola) in 2007, Zeta is a data-driven marketing technology pioneer. The company’s SaaS-based marketing cloud helps more than 500 Fortune 1000 and middle market brands acquire, retain, and grow customer relationships through actionable data, advanced analytics, and machine learning. Zeta’s highly-rated technology platform has been recognized in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Digital Marketing Hubs (January 2016) and in its Magic Quadrant for Multichannel Campaign Management (April 2016) and competes with Oracle, IBM, Salesforce, and Adobe. Operating on four continents with more than 1,300 employees, the company is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Silicon Valley, Boston, London, and Hyderabad, India, and 25 additional offices around the globe.
Petsky Prunier also represented Zeta on its $70 million equity investment from GCP Capital Partners with debt financing from Madison Capital Funding in 2012.
A team from Petsky Prunier, led by partner and managing director Sanjay Chadda, served as exclusive financial advisor to Zeta Global.