Inflexion Private Equity has acquired a majority shareholding in Group IMD from funds managed by Vitruvian Partners.
Headquartered in London, Group IMD is a global technology business automating the distribution workflow of video advertisements from advertising agencies and production companies to broadcasters and the online video industry. The company connects over 2,500 clients and 14,000 digital and linear media channels in more than 100 countries.
Group IMD’s IMD Cloud is the only global, fully-automated, entirely cloud-native platform for broadcast-grade, video advertising distribution workflow. As mission-critical technology, IMD Cloud is relied upon to distribute a significant proportion of video advertising quickly in many markets. Group IMD also includes Optimad, which owns and operates industry gold standard campaign data and management platforms, and Fastrax, a distribution platform for promotional music videos in the UK and France.
Since 2011, with the backing of Vitruvian Partners, an international technology centric growth investor with global reach, Group IMD has eplaced its on-premise hardware and software technology set with a single, cloud-based software platform that operates for clients 24 x 7; expanded geographically from four offices in Europe to 35 offices operating in 30 countries across Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America; and executed and integrated acquisitions in the UK, Singapore, China, Latin America and Spain.
Inflexion Private Equity brings TMT experience and international reach, with local in-country experts in Asia and South America. It will support Group IMD’s management team as it accelerates international expansion, targets selected acquisitions to extend Group IMD’s product offering and further invests in its cloud-based technology platform.
In 2015, Group IMD generated revenue of GBP21.1 million.
Simon Cox, CEO of Group IMD, says: “It has been great working with Vitruvian who have been strong supporters of the business. Now, with Inflexion’s help, we’re excited to extend our platform to bring new solutions to more clients across the world and help them improve their business. Our clients are our number one priority, business will continue as usual and the same management team will lead the next stage of Group IMD’s journey.”
Ben Johnson, partner at Vitruvian, adds: “Group IMD is a true UK technology success story and we are delighted to have supported Simon and his team over the last five years. As a result of strong organic revenue performance, investments in new growth markets, and the development of a market-leading technology platform, the company is now well positioned for the next stage of its expansion, and we wish the team continued success.”
Simon Turner, managing partner at Inflexion, says: “We are delighted to be backing the buyout of Group IMD, a market-leading business with an international footprint and what we believe to be a best-in-class technology platform. Group IMD operates in a global, fast growth market and we’re looking forward to working alongside Simon Cox and his ambitious team as they further accelerate the company’s international expansion.”
