Irvine, Calif.-based Advantage Sales & Marketing LLC closed yesterday on the purchase of Springfield advertising and marketing firm Marlin Network Inc.
Through the deal, Marlin Network will serve as a Springfield-based division for Advantage. Founder Dennis Marlin, who launched the company in 1985, will head the division, and the company’s 140 employees will stay on board. Terms of the deal were undisclosed.
“They are the beneficiary of this transaction being an ESOP company,” Marlin said of the Springfield agency’s employees. “We used an independent trustee to negotiate that on their part.”
Marlin said the deal was in the works for about a year. It was prompted by Advantage’s review of the market and desire to expand its operations.
“I will still maintain the same role running the company. And all of our brand names stay in place,” he said. “This gives us an opportunity to grow and add talent in the marketplace. It gives us a chance to offer more services to our clients.”
Marlin Network comprises seven affiliates: Marlin Co., Deep, Food IQ, The Alchemedia Project, Marlin Network University, Star Awards and Marlin Network Consulting Group.
The 1987-founded Advantage has over 40,000 employees providing marketing solutions to such industries as food services, retail and consumer electronics.
“Together with Waypoint, our food-service sales organization, we now offer services that encompass coverage from point of purchase through to point of consumption for brands and operators,” Advantage CEO Tanya Domier said in a news release. “This acquisition also enhances our marketing expertise and improves our value proposition and effectiveness for a variety of clients, customers and industries.”
Marlin Network represents around 80 food and beverage brands. Last month, the company ranked No. 4,456 on the annual fast-growth Inc. 5000 list. With 2014 revenue of $15.2 million, the company posted three-year revenue growth of 59 percent, according to
Springfield Business Journal archives.
