Blackstone announced that private equity funds managed by the firm entered into a definitive agreement to make a “significant equity investment” in the Fort Worth digital advertising company Simpli.fi that “values the company at approximately $1.5 billion.”
Blackstone will join the existing investor GTCR, a leading private equity firm, as majority shareholders in Simpli.fi, the announcement, made June 28, said.
Simpli.fi’s suite of workflow and ad buying software allows agencies and media groups to execute high-return media spend through targeted digital ad campaigns. Each month, Simpli.fi’s advertising platform powers over 120,000 campaigns for 30,000 active advertisers.
GTCR acquired a majority interest in Simpli.fi in 2017 and, with co-founders Frost Prioleau and Paul Harrison, has helped build Simpli.fi into a scaled and rapidly growing platform.
“Blackstone’s investment will enable the company to further accelerate innovation and organic growth initiatives, as well as to continue executing on its targeted acquisition strategy,” Blackstone said. “The investment from Blackstone is a continuation of its thematic focus on high-quality digital advertising technology platforms.”
"We are thrilled to partner with Blackstone as we pursue the next stage of growth for Simpli.fi," Prioleau, who has served as Simpli.fi's CEO since its inception, said in the joint release. "Blackstone’s depth of capabilities and expertise are a great complement to those of GTCR, and their investment is a validation of the fantastic work done by our team members to get us to this point."
Sachin Bavishi, a managing director at Blackstone, said: “Simpli.fi’s highly differentiated technology platform and superior customer service have made it a clear leader in its space. Digital advertising is a high-conviction investment theme at Blackstone, and Simpli.fi sits at the intersection of multiple attractive tailwinds, including the continued shift in local media spend to programmatic digital and CTV.”