July 2024
Jun Group
Canaccord Genuity Advises Advantage Solutions on the Sale of Digital Advertising Platform Jun Group to Verve Group
Canaccord Genuity has advised Advantage Solutions (NASDAQ: ADV), a leading provider of sales and marketing services to consumer goods manufacturers and retailers, on the pending sale of Jun Group, its digital advertising platform, to Verve Group SE, a Swedish digital advertising company formerly known as Media and Games Invest SE (VER / M8G). Gross proceeds from the sale are approximately $185 million.
Jun Group, which Advantage acquired in 2018, is a technology company that powers digital media campaigns on digital platforms, including smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers. The company was an early pioneer of mobile advertising, with nearly 20 years of experience guiding advertisers efficiently to their goals. From the start, Jun Group valued transparency, honesty, and ROI over impressions and click-through rates, which has led to long-term relationships with its customers. Over the years, the company has expanded tremendously to support every corner of the digital media landscape, including brand, publisher, shopper, healthcare, influencer, and podcast marketing. Its platform is powered by its software development kit (SDK), enabling privacy-first, direct-to-consumer advertising across premium mobile applications. Jun Group assures performance with state-of-the-art AI and machine learning solutions, complemented by thoughtful insights and counsel provided by its exceptional team. The company is headquartered in New York City on Madison Avenue, with offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Boston.
Verve Group is a fast-growing, profitable, digital media company that provides AI-driven ad-software solutions. Verve matches global advertiser demand with publisher ad-supply, enhancing results through first-party data from its own content. Aligned with its mission, “Let’s make media better,” the company focuses on enabling better outcomes for brands, agencies, and publishers with responsible advertising solutions, with an emphasis on emerging media channels. Verve’s main operational presence is in North America and Europe. The combination of Verve and Jun Group significantly expands reach and scale of the combined company.
Advantage Solutions is a leading provider of outsourced sales, experiential, and marketing solutions uniquely positioned at the intersection of brands and retailers. The company’s data- and technology-driven services — which include headquarter sales, retail merchandising, in-store and online sampling, digital commerce, omnichannel marketing, retail media, and others — help brands and retailers of all sizes get products into the hands of consumers, wherever they shop. As a trusted partner and problem solver, Advantage helps its clients sell more while spending less. The company has offices throughout North America and strategic investments in select markets throughout Africa, Asia, Australia, Latin America, and Europe through which Advantage serves the global needs of multinational, regional, and local manufacturers.
While Jun Group provides some services to retailers and consumer-packaged goods companies, many of its customers — including publishers and healthcare companies — are distinct from Advantage’s core customer base. The sale of Jun Group largely completes Advantage’s business portfolio transformation, which was designed to sharpen the company’s focus on providing exceptional services to its retailer and CPG clients. Canaccord Genuity also advised on Advantage’s sale of Adlucent in May 2024, another divestiture by Advantage designed to refocus the company around its core capabilities.