In view of the difficulties that companies have in growing their sales, marketing services companies are increasingly in demand. In 2012, investment operations were carried out in the sector with the expectation of future market growth.
Nazca acquires 100% from Ovelar merchandising
Nazca Capital at the end of 2012 acquired 100% of the share capital of Ovelar MerchandisingThe company, a provider of visual communication and point-of-sale promotion solutions for the large-scale retail sector in Spain and Mexico, for 28 million euro.
Founded 30 years ago, Ovelar Merchandising develops and produces global and innovative solutions to facilitate and stimulate commercial work at the point of sale in large retail outlets (price indicator supports, solutions for shelf organisation, etc.). The company's client portfolio includes the main distribution companies, both Spanish and multinational, for which it works from the conception of the product to its staging at the point of sale. Ovelar Merchandising has 135 employees and a turnover of 26 million euros in 2011.
"This is an example of a sale from one fund to another. Part of the Ovelar family, founders of the company, and the Tandem Capital fund, which held 38% of Ovelar Merchandising's capital, will sell their stake. Naza intends to make its investment profitable by growing the company in the international market, mainly in Latin America, where it already has a leading position in Mexico, and has just opened offices in Colombia and Chile as a development platform from where it hopes to enter other markets in the coming months", analyses Diego Gutiérrez from ABRA INVEST experts in SME growth and financing.
Portilla y Velasco has received funding from the Gijón emprende Seed Fund.
Portilla & Velasco was created in 1996 and was one of the first companies in Asturias to offer Internet solutions.It specialises in providing value-added services in the field of Communication, e-learning and ICT: web solutions (portals, extranets and intranets, B2B and B2C platforms, purchasing centres, e-recruitment, e-procurement, internet presence, e-learning (Content Factory services), corporate communication, 3D projects and graphic design (annual reports, catalogues, brochures, editorial line, packaging, corporate identity, etc).
The Gijón Invierte II Seed Capital Fund is aimed at providing financing under preferential conditions to new innovative business initiatives, with no guarantee other than the viability of the project itself through the figure of the participative loan. The total amount raised in Portilla y Velasco was €500,000 together with other private investors.
Is technology a differential or a commodity?
We are seeing a number of investment operations by Venture capitalThe main applications used by these companies, mainly in the US, are marketing-related technology companies. "Lead generation, improved customer relations and loyalty, better customer segmentation, etc. are some of the applications used by these companies. For example, BBVA has joined Radius, a provider of business intelligence tools applied to marketing and aimed at the SME market. In Spain, there is an opportunity for those who know how to use and make the most of the latest technology", says Diego Gutierrez.
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