Forum Asset Management has announced the completion of a growth equity investment in VENDO Media Inc [1].
We are told that proceeds from Forum’s investment were used to complete the acquisition of Media City Pub Inc. and will be used to fund future growth.
VENDO is of course a leading Canadian out-of-home media infrastructure company, formed through the combination of Media City and Signpatico. Media City and Signpatico began working together in October 2020 through a joint sales and marketing partnership under the VENDO brand. In Q3 2022, Signpatico acquired Media City to complete the business combination.
VENDO is led by James McDonnell, CEO (former CEO of Signpatico) and Sylvio Deluca, President (former CEO of Media City). McDonnell describes the acquisition as “a pinning together of complementary networks and services, combining Signpatico’s Western Canadian network with Media City’s Eastern Canadian network. We can now offer our advertising clients true national scale and regional focus with Canada’s 2nd largest network of digital billboards and access to 100+ markets across the country. Our network of indoor, or place-based, assets in major office and retail markets further extends our reach and allows us to compete with the incumbent out-of-home media providers across the country.”
“Our partnership with VENDO aligns with Forum’s strategy of investing in businesses with high barriers to entry, resilient cash flows, exciting growth prospects and opportunities for positive social impact” said Duncan Ramage, Managing Partner of Private Equity at Forum. “Out-of-home media is a well-established asset class and offers strong value propositions to stakeholders across the advertising value chain. We believe VENDO provides an attractive opportunity to build a strategically relevant portfolio of media infrastructure assets in attractive and growing markets across Canada.”
Forum’s investment was made through Forum Urban Infrastructure Opportunities Fund I.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Forum is an investor, developer and asset manager operating across North America for over 25 years. Our core purpose is to deliver Extraordinary Outcomes™ to our stakeholders. Our adaptable, agile and dynamic team is committed to sustainability and responsible investing, creating value that benefits the communities in which we invest.
Our investment focus includes real estate, private equity and infrastructure. The enterprise value of our assets under management currently exceeds C$1.7 billion. Our investments have attracted a number of top investors. We’re proud to have delivered in the top tier of alternative asset returns since 2002, while positively impacting over 6,000 lives.
Forum’s private equity investment strategy is to provide growth, buyout and succession equity to sustainable infrastructure and essential service platforms in the middle market. Forum’s private equity team targets investments that offer opportunities for positive impact, value creation and growth. For more information about Forum’s private equity investment strategy, visit forumam.com/private-equity.