Just a few weeks after helping to put Academy Internet’s growth strategy finance into place, EMC Corporate Finance has assisted the Brighton company to make its first acquisition of 2008.
Search marketing agency Site Visibility, based at Shoreham, West Sussex, has been bought by AI’s parent company, Academy Learning Ltd, and merged with AI’s own search marketing operation. The combined business becomes one of the UK’s top 15 agencies in the field.
Site Visibility will be used as AI’s “acquisition marketing” offering to clients who are looking to acquire, convert and retain their customers online.
The business’s founder and managing director, Damon Lightley, has become an AI shareholder and joined the company’s executive management board.
He said: “My decision to merge Site Visibility with AI is great for customers as well as for my people. As part of AI, my customers will benefit from their greater financial resources as well as access to their highly complementary digital marketing and communications services. Together we possess a potent capability to acquire, convert and retain customers online which is of increasing importance to our larger customers.”
AI chief executive Jason Woodford added: “This investment is one further step in our mission to become one of the UK’s leading digital agencies. I am delighted to welcome both Damon to the AI Board and his experienced team into AI. Site Visibility boasts an impressive customer list with high levels of customer satisfaction and we have already experienced an excellent cultural fit and business synergy. ”
AI’s corporate adviser, Terry Rainback from EMC’s Crawley office, commented: “Academy Internet has already started to deliver on its stated intention to become one of the UK’s leading digital agencies with this first acquisition of 2008. The combined operations of Site Visibility and Academy Internet represent a significant new force in the search marketing arena and it provides exciting prospects for the AI Digital Group to build upon further in 2008.”
The search marketing industry is experiencing rapid change and consolidation. AI already ranks 34th in the 2007 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 and 144th in the 2007 Deloitte Technology EMEA Fast 500 league tables. During late 2007, EMC helped AI secure funding to enable further expansion in 2008 through a combination of continued organic growth and a series of planned acquisitions and mergers.