September 2018
Cluep
Petsky Prunier advises Cluep on its sale to Impact Group
AI-Powered Marketing Tech Platform Will Bring Digital Resources to the Grocery Industry and CPG Clients
September 18, 2018 (New York, NY)- Petsky Prunier is pleased to announce it has advised artificial intelligence-driven digital advertising platform Cluep Inc. on its sale to grocery sales and marketing agency Impact Group, Inc., a portfolio company of CI Capital Partners LLC. Cluep will continue operating as a separate division under the Cluep brand and will complement Impact Group’s sales, marketing, and merchandising expertise and value-added service offerings for CPG brands and the grocery industry.
Founded in 2012 by Karan Walia, Anton Mamonov, and Sobi Walia, Cluep’s artificially intelligent digital advertising platform targets potential customers based on what they are sharing, how they are feeling, and where they have been. The Toronto-based company leverages proprietary text analysis, real-time targeting, facial recognition, vision recognition, and more to identify and anticipate customer interest, and has connected more than 400 brands globally with customers through more than 1,500 campaigns. The platform offers a variety of products, including Cluep Posts, Cluep Pics and Cluep Places, and currently services high-profile brands, including Coca-Cola, Kraft, Unilever, and Walmart, among others.
Impact Group has decades of combined experience in the retail broker and CPG industry, which enables clients to connect with retailers more effectively and drive aggressive growth and sales. The company focuses on leading change through disruptive and innovative services, including sales, merchandising, and category analytical support to more than 700 companies in the CPG industry. Impact Group is known for fostering a culture that is authentic, strategic, collaborative, and entrepreneurial.
Impact Group’s strategic acquisition of Cluep is a direct response to ongoing market shifts in retail and grocery. With online grocery sales projected to reach $100 billion by 2025, many brands and retailers are rethinking their approach to marketing and how they reach consumers in the digital space, including mobile, where consumers are increasingly spending their time. Having extensive industry experience, significant geographic reach, and deep relationships with brand clients and retailers alike, Impact Group gains an additional competitive advantage for its client brands through the acquisition of Cluep and its intelligent, proactive online consumer engagement. In addition to retaining Cluep’s employees as part of the acquisition, Impact Group also plans to add to Cluep’s resources with additional hires in the coming months.
Petsky Prunier, with a team led by Sanjay Chadda and Marc Flor, served as the exclusive financial advisor to Cluep.