Print and marketing group Ive has launched a buying spree ahead of a widely anticipated second run at the ASX.
Ive Group has executed a heads of agreement to acquire digital and direct marketing agency Digital Logic Marketing Solutions just days after announcing it had picked up Australia’s largest not-for-profit fundraising and direct communications group, Pareto.
The deals come as reports surfaced last week that Ive was expected to seek $150 million in a surprise second attempt at an IPO less than six months after it cancelled a proposed ASX float in June due to ‘underlying market conditions.'
Ive Group executive chairman Geoff Selig told Print21 that the company had yet to make a final decision. “We’re not ruling out anything in the immediate future and the suggestion of an IPO is something that is still under consideration. The market is certainly less volatile than it was back in June. We haven’t made a final decision but of course we have continued our dialogue with investors over the past six months. If we do decide to move quickly, we’ll be letting our staff and customers and everyone else know immediately,” he said.
The decision to acquire the Melbourne and Sydney-based Digital Logic Marketing Solutions sharpens Ive’s focus on the personalised digital print and direct mail solutions market.
“The acquisition of Digital Logic further enhances the work we’re already undertaking with our clients around digital transformation,” said Joel Norton, CEO of Kalido, Ive’s creative and marketing services division. “Digital Logic are experts in developing effective lifecycle customer journeys, and deploying marketing automation to deliver highly personalised and targeted communications.”
Digital Logic is a market leader in the automated delivery of data driven multi-channel customer communications, with clients able to access a broad range of solutions including personalised email, mobile, social, web, video and print media through a central platform to improve engagement and develop customer relationships. Digital Logic recently released Printid™, the world’s first dynamic direct mail app, which operates directly from the Salesforce Marketing Cloud. Printid™ securely delivers direct mail from desktop to press in minutes as part of the customer journey.
Ive said it would work with Digital Logic CEO Paul McGarity and other key staff to continue operating business as usual without disruption to clients and partners. “We are excited about becoming part of the Ive team, where the combined capabilities, knowledge and expertise of the businesses will deliver superior competitive advantage to our clients,” said McGarity.
Warwick Hay, managing director of Ive Group said, “Digital Logic shares our vision of delivering highly effective, multi-channel communications, which leverage the power of print as well as taking advantage of digital in a fully integrated and seamless environment. The Digital Logic team will be a fantastic addition to Kalido and the Ive Group more broadly.”
Last week, Ive announced it had acquired Australia’s largest not-for-profit specialist fundraising consultancy and direct communications group, Pareto Fundraising and Pareto Phone. Founded in 2002 by Sean Triner and Paul Roberts, Pareto has pioneered a data driven approach to fundraising across the not-for-profit sector, from development of the strategic framework through to the execution and measurement of highly personalised and targeted fundraising campaigns.
‘It’s a very good fit for us strategically and we've been working on this for a number of months because we see the not-for-profit sector as an area of growth. The Pareto team have built a wonderful reputation across the not-for-profit sector for delivering consistent results for their clients over a long period of time. The combination of our two businesses will be incredibly powerful as we build further on Pareto’s unique capabilities to support and grow charities across Australia and New Zealand.”
Pareto co-founder Sean Triner said joining Ive Group was a logical step. “Ive are the right fit for our charity clients, their beneficiaries and us," he said. "Our charity clients have achieved extraordinary results working with Pareto, but we want to help them grow even more. Our recent ground breaking digital work along with great direct mail and telemarketing is helping keep fundraising alive and relevant in a constantly changing environment.”
Sean Triner, Paul Roberts (CEO Pareto Fundraising) and Bruce Cotton (CEO Pareto Phone) will continue in their current roles with the business.