Investment bank Equiteq advised 4 Mile Analytics, a Santa Cruz, CA-based data consulting firm, on its sale to S4 Capital, a global digital advertising and marketing company.
Founded in 2017, 4 Mile works with Fortune 500 firms to extract more value from data. The firm delivers offerings across data analytics, data engineering, data governance, software engineering, UX design and project and product management. 4 Mile leverages technology platforms including Looker, Snowflake, Fivetran, and Google Cloud.
The firm, which is led by CEO Nick Fogler and COO Sam Baron, has approximately 40 employees, according to LinkedIn.
S4 Capital will combine 4 Mile with Media.Monks, the entity that was recently created from the merger of agencies Media Monks and MightyHive. The deal will bolster Media.Monks’ data and digital media practice.
“Understanding and acting on data is at the heart of the S4 Capital Content, Digital Media and Technology services offering,” said Sir Martin Sorrell, S4 Capital executive chairman. “Therefore, we are delighted to welcome Nick, Sam, and their colleagues at 4 Mile Analytics, as we expand our capabilities and partnerships, in particular with Google and their Looker and Google Cloud platforms.”
Sorrell founded S4 Capital in 2018 after leaving WPP following allegations of personal misconduct and misuse of company assets, which he denied. Sorrell had led the advertising giant from 1985 to 2018.
S4 has grown quickly via a series of significant acquisitions, including Media Monks and MightyHive for $350 million and $150 million, respectively. The firm also recently bought BizTech and ConversionWorks. S4 today has more than 6,900 people across 33 countries and a market capitalization of $5.1 billion.
An Equiteq team led by Alex Floess advised 4 Mile on its sale to S4 Capital.
“Nick Fogler and Sam Baron built a premier consultancy with an enviable market position in a highly attractive industry vertical,” Floess said. “By combining with S4 Capital, 4 Mile will be able to enhance its already sizeable market opportunity and further accelerate its growth profile.”
Fogler added, “Overall, Equiteq far exceeded our already very high expectations and became a truly trusted partner to our leadership team. Their sound and objective strategic advice was instrumental in getting us through the emotional ups and downs of the most important transaction in our personal and professional lives.”