GTCR Announces Acquisition of Majority Stake in Simpli.fi

CHICAGO, Aug. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- GTCR, a leading private equity firm, announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in Simplifi Holdings, Inc. ("Simpli.fi" or the "Company"). Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, Simpli.fi provides a programmatic platform that enables the largest buyers of localized advertising, including local media groups and agencies, to execute high volumes of hyper-targeted campaigns across a variety of digital ad formats and device types.

GTCR will partner with co-founders Frost Prioleau and Paul Harrison and the current management team as they continue to expand the Company's capabilities and market presence. GTCR expects to commit additional equity capital to fund future acquisitions and organic growth initiatives.

"Frost, Paul and the Simpli.fi team have built a strong business serving a unique niche that is well-positioned for continued success in a rapidly growing industry," said GTCR Managing Director Craig Bondy. "As both large and small advertisers look to localize and personalize their campaigns, Simpli.fi's platform, through the use of unstructured data, will help them better connect with their target audiences."

"We are excited to partner with GTCR as we continue to build our platform and solve the needs of local advertisers," said Mr. Prioleau, who has served as Simpli.fi's CEO since its inception. "GTCR brings significant resources and experience in building industry-leading companies, and they will be a valuable resource in the long-term expansion of our business."

"Simpli.fi consistently delivers performance on high volumes of localized campaigns, providing a unique value for its customers," added Stephen Master, Vice President at GTCR. "We look forward to partnering with the Simpli.fi team and supporting continued product innovation and strategic acquisitions."

The transaction is expected to close in late September 2017.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to GTCR. Petsky Prunier LLC and LUMA Partners LLC served as financial advisors and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati served as legal advisor to Simpli.fi. Selling shareholders include Simpli.fi's lead institutional investors Contour Venture Partners and Frontier Capital.

About GTCR

Founded in 1980, GTCR is a leading private equity firm focused on investing in growth companies in the Growth Business Services, Technology, Media & Telecommunications, Healthcare and Financial Services & Technology industries. The Chicago-based firm pioneered The Leaders Strategy™ - finding and partnering with management leaders in core domains to identify, acquire and build market-leading companies through transformational acquisitions and organic growth. Since its inception, GTCR has invested more than $14 billion in over 200 companies. For more information, please visit www.gtcr.com.

About Simpli.fi

Simpli.fi is the leader in localized programmatic advertising. Simpli.fi works with the largest buyers of localized advertising, including brands, agencies, local media groups, networks, and trading desks. These companies utilize Simpli.fi to localize ad targeting and content, to deliver performance on high volumes of localized campaigns, and to provide deep insights on their dynamic audiences. For more information about the company, visit www.simpli.fi.

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Eileen Rochford
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[email protected]

SOURCE GTCR

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