Research Firm MTM Acquired by Marketing Group

In the UK, marketing firm Brave Bison has acquired insights consultancy MTM London, for an initial £6m in cash and shares, plus a further £6m in performance-related payments over five years.

MTM was founded in 2005 by Ellis and Jon Watts, and offers insight and opinion to media, tech, advertising and entertainment brands, using qual and quant research, market analysis, consultancy and analytics. A particular focus is research among software developers - the firm has built a global developer network to help clients optimize their tools and services for this market.

MTM achieved net revenue of £8.3m in 2024, and adjusted EBITDA of £1.3m, and the buy will increase Brave Bison's revenue by just under a quarter, to around £44m. The acquisition will be funded through the Company's revolving credit facility and existing cash resources.

Brave Bison is already the parent of social media marketing agency SocialChain. Following the buy, MTM will form a new insights and consultancy division, operating independently from Brave Bison's marketing services and skills divisions, and will retain its existing brand and leadership team. The insights division will also collaborate with Engage, Brave Bison's sports marketing and fan engagement consultancy.

'Joining Brave Bison opens up an exciting new chapter for MTM', says Caroline Wren (pictured), CEO of MTM. 'Our role has always been to provide our clients with clarity in a complex world - and now we have the platform and technology to take that even further. Our clients are facing more disruption and opportunity than ever; together, we'll be better equipped to help them navigate what's next.'

Web sites: www.wearemtm.com and www.bravebison.com .