The north west team at LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, has provided £6m to enable MSQ Partners to buy Be Heard Partnership.
The deal, which saw tech and marketing group Be Heard delisted from the London Stock Exchange (AIM) this morning, is worth an enterprise value of £20.6m.
The acquisition comes after LDC announced it backed London-based portfolio company MSQ in May 2019 in a £37.5m deal.
MSQ chief executive and founder Peter Reid said he and his management team 'are working to invest in new talent and services to expand the group’s capabilities', with LDC’s support.
John Clarke, investment director at LDC in Manchester, said: “This acquisition not only significantly enhances MSQ’s already impressive position, but expands its range of services to provide a truly integrated, multi-disciplinary offering for its clients.
“It marks a key step in a long-term growth strategy that will help attract the very best industry talent and cement MSQ’s market-leading position.”
MSQ’s said the acquisition is part of its ‘build and buy’ strategy and will create a global workforce of 785 people.
The group, which counts Vodafone, Unilever, GSK, and Nestlé among its clients, now consists of Be Heard’s agencies MMT Digital, Freemavens and Agenda21, which specialise in digital transformation, data and insight and digital media respectively.
The brands sit alongside MSQ’s branding and design agency Holmes & Marchant, PR and content agency Smarts, engagement firm Stack, B2B marketing agency Stein IAS, creative specialists The Gate, and digital agency twentysix.
Mr Reid said: “It’s an exciting time in MSQ’s development, not least transacting a deal and integrating two groups in the virtual, and often challenging environment, that we are currently operating in.
“We value LDC’s support, including that of our buy and build strategy, and we’re excited about the scale of opportunities already arising from the acquisition.”
