• by Tobi Elkin  @tobielkin, August 31, 2017

Private equity firm GTCR on Thursday announced it has purchased a majority stake in Simplifi Holdings, a programmatic advertising platform provider. The company’s product, Simpli.fi, enables buyers of localized advertising, including local media groups and agencies, to purchase highly targeted campaigns across a variety of digital ad formats and device types.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

GTCR said it will partner with Simpli.fi co-founders Frost Prioleau and Paul Harrison and the current management team to expand the company’s market presence. GTCR said it plans to allocate additional capital to fund future acquisitions and organic growth initiatives.

“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,” stated GTCR Managing Director Craig Bondy. Prioleau said GTCR will help Simpli.fi to grow: "We have unique capabilities around delivering localization and customization at scale, and GTCR will be a great partner as we expand our capabilities and bring them to additional markets."

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.