• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, August 10, 2023

Novacap, a mid-market private equity firm based in Montreal, has acquired independent advertising platform Caden from Lee Enterprises, which acquired Cadent in 2013.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but Axios estimates that the deal is worth about $600 million.

New York City-headquartered Cadent has evolved from a cable and broadcast aggregator to a supplier of unified audience targeting across connected TV (CTV), traditional TV and digital advertising.

With the new backing, Cadent plans to expand by acquisition to achieve additional audience reach, automation, and/or attribution capabilities.

“We expect that our partnership with Novacap will only accelerate our vision of the future of advertising – one that is audience-first, data-infused, and activated seamlessly across all converged media," stated Nick Troiano, CEO at Cadent.

RBC Capital Markets, TD Securities and Scotiabank acted as financial advisors and provided financing to Novacap, which has about C$8 billion in managed assets.

This is the fourth investment under Novacap’s TMP VI Fund.

Cadent’s clients include global agency holding companies and media-buying agencies, major advertisers and global publishers and content distributors. Its Aperture platform has nearly 300 partner connections and holds technology patents for identity management, audience targeting and advertising monetization, according to the company.

“We are at the beginning of a fundamental shift in TV advertising, and with strategic investments and acquisitions we believe Cadent will continue to propel forward as an innovator in the converged marketplace,” said Samuel Nasso, principal at Novacap.