A majority stake in PMX Agency, formerly Paradysz + PM Digital, a New York City-based global marketing firm, has been sold to Stagwell Group LLC.
PMX Agency will continue to operate within Stagwell Group LLC, Stagwell Group’s private equity fund, as a standalone agency operated by current management. Additional terms of the deal are not being disclosed, according to Mark Penn, president and CEO of Stagwell Group.
Launched in 2015 by Penn, a former Microsoft senior executive, Stagwell Group announced last summer that $250 million in funding had been raised with the capability of making up to $750 million in acquisitions, according to media reports. The company focuses on investment in digital marketing services.
PMX Agency has specialized in analytics-driven marketing, with clients ranging in disciplines from nonprofits to retail to technology. Clients include The North Face, Dow Jones and the American Heart Association.
The agency, in June, announced a strategic rebrand from Paradysz + PM Digital to PMX Agency. It employs 300 staffers in eight offices.
“We are thrilled to join the Stagwell Group given their expertise and knowledge in helping digital companies grow,” said Chris Paradysz, co-CEO of PMX Agency in a release.
The move is Stagwell Group’s fourth acquisition in the marketing services industry in less than a year. Stagwell Group acquired strategic communications firm SKDKnickerbocker in October 2015, and then entertainment research firm National Research Group the following month. Stagwell Group acquired a majority stake in Code and Theory, a digital marketing agency, in January.
Performance marketing capabilities, such as those offered by PMX Agency, are an important component to the marketing wheel for clients including nonprofits, Penn said.
“To fill the performance marketing piece is the next important piece here,” Penn said. “I think that the company has terrific leadership and a terrific mix of clients.”
