Pamplona Capital Management, together with the existing management team, has acquired a majority interest in Legacy.com, a provider of obituary-related products and services to newspapers, funeral homes, and more than 43 million monthly visitors across the globe.
It is Pamplona’s fourth investment from Pamplona TMT I, its USD1 billion, US-based private equity fund focused on growth equity and control investments in the technology, media, and telecommunications sectors.
This investment follows more than a decade of double-digit growth at Legacy.com, driven by a surging e-commerce business, a flourishing top 40 internet web domain, and an expanding US and global presence. Already the worldwide leader in the online digital memorialisation space, the company intends to continue its aggressive investment in product innovation and further expand its partner network.
“The winners in this investment will be Legacy’s partners, including the newspapers, funeral homes, florists, charities, and – most importantly – our growing audience of more than 43 million online visitors each month,” says Legacy.com’s founder and CEO, Stopher Bartol. “We’re excited by Pamplona’s energy and its commitment to Legacy’s growth and innovation, which aims to help more people honour and pay respects to the lives that matter to us all.”
Deeply rooted in the Chicago metropolitan area, Legacy.com continues to expand its Los Angeles operation as well, where its Legacy Labs division helps to define the next generation of products and services for online memorialisation.
“Legacy.com has built an exciting business that is well positioned for continued geographic expansion and ongoing audience growth, given behavioural and demographic shifts across the globe,” says Hiren Mankodi, partner, Pamplona. “The company’s singular focus on the growth of this category has resulted in winning the long-term trust of some the largest news media companies and funeral home partners. Legacy.com provides daily management and growth for obituary-related revenue to its partners with unmatched know-how in the space, consistently expanding reach, engagement, and value, resulting in superior monetisation with award-winning customer service. We’re thrilled to partner with the talented management team at Legacy.com and to provide the investment to drive the next level of growth for this business.”
To date, Pamplona TMT I has announced investments in: Dyn, an internet performance management company; Logicworks, a cloud automation and managed services provider; and Nova Sciences, a new platform entity formed to pursue acquisitions in the industrial instrumentation industry. Dyn was subsequently acquired by Oracle in January 2017.
