Principle America Co., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based digital marketing company, Principle Company acquired Eboost Consulting out of San Diego on August 3, 2021. Eboost will bring its award-winning services across Paid Search, Paid Social, and Amazon advertising along with the deal. Principle’s plan is to have Eboost provide its social media advertising and consulting services to Japanese companies that are working to expand and build presences in the US. For the last four years, Principle has provided digital marketing support for Japanese companies in North America through Principle America Co. This acquisition strengthens Principle’s ability to help Japanese companies succeed in the United States markets. While helping Principle expand, this deal also allows Eboost to accelerate its growth trajectory and already-strong advertising solutions. It will also expand its capabilities in data analysis, analytics, and data visualization. Evan LaGasse, CEO of Eboost consulting, said about the deal, “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to take this step forward with Principle and could not be prouder of our talented team at Eboost who all worked so hard to get us to this point. This exciting partnership with Principle enables Eboost to better service our clients by expanding our capabilities in measurement, tracking, and reporting, giving our media buyers even greater tools to make ever-more sophisticated optimization decisions that are rooted in data.”

High demand from private equity groups and strategic buyers have been driving attractive prices for sellers in this industry across the country.

Precedent Comparable Transactions: Digital Marketing Industry

Middle Market companies (above $5,000,000 in revenue) in the Digital Marketing industry (SIC 7311) had an EBITDA² Median Multiple of 6.5x, based on 16 transactions between 2010 and 2021.

Main Street companies (below $5,000,000 in revenue) in the Digital Marketing industry (SIC 7311) had a SDE¹ Median Multiple of 2.5x, based on 31 transactions between 2015 and 2021.

If you’re contemplating a sale of your Digital Marketing company or simply would like to understand your options, contact a Sunbelt Advisor today. We have closed multiple strategic and financial transactions in the Digital Marketing industry and have industry specialists ready to answer any of your questions.

We also offer a no-obligation, complimentary value range for your company.

¹Seller’s Discretionary Earnings – Seller’s discretionary earnings is defined as net profit before taxes and any compensation to owner plus amortization, depreciation, interest, other non-cash expense and non-business-related expense and normally to one working owner. (Source: BV Market Data)

²Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) – EBITDA is Net Income with interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization added back to it. EBITDA can be used to analyze and compare profitability between companies and industries because it eliminates the effects of financing and accounting decisions. However, this is a non-GAAP measure that allows a greater amount of discretion as to what is (and is not) included in the calculation. This also means that companies often change the items included in their EBITDA calculation from one reporting period to the next. (Source: BV Market Data)