SHORT HILLS, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE: DNB) today announced that it has acquired
Massachusetts-based Avention, the maker of OneSource®
solutions. Avention provides organizations with a deeper understanding
of company, contact, and market data, delivered through a robust
technology platform.
The acquisition positions Dun & Bradstreet as a leader in the Sales
Acceleration market. The category provides Sales and Marketing
professionals with actionable market and company information enhanced by
software. The goal of Sales Acceleration is to deliver refined
information to make it more current, connecting it with buying signals,
and providing it with relevant context. Outsell, Inc. estimates this
fragmented and underserved space has an annual market opportunity of $10
billion.
Dun & Bradstreet is uniquely positioned to serve this growing market
with its foundational company and contact data, which will soon be
delivered through Avention's best-in-class software offerings. The
combination provides a tremendous opportunity to evolve Dun &
Bradstreet's Traditional Prospecting offerings into a category that
serves critical B2B sales and marketing needs. Following the
acquisition, Dun & Bradstreet's Sales Acceleration product portfolio
will include: Hoover's, Avention, NetProspex, and Strategic Alliance
solutions (such as its partnership with Salesforce.com). Combined, these
products generated in excess of $200 million in 2016 revenue.
"The Sales Acceleration space offers a big opportunity for Dun &
Bradstreet. We believe as the global leader in commercial information we
are well positioned to take market share and accelerate our growth
strategy," said Bob Carrigan, chairman and chief executive officer of
Dun & Bradstreet. "Bolstered by the success of our recent M&A activity,
which has exceeded its acquisition economics, we will continue to
explore smart, tuck-in acquisitions that, combined with disciplined
execution, will help us to further expand our leadership in this
category as well as other areas of our business."
Dun & Bradstreet purchased Avention for $150 million, net of cash
assumed, on January 9, 2017. Avention generated approximately $60
million in revenue in 2016. The acquisition is expected to be neutral to
as adjusted operating income in 2017 and accretive beginning in 2018 as
meaningful cost synergies begin to materialize.
Using Avention's dynamic and powerful platform to bring to life Dun &
Bradstreet's global database, B2B sales and marketing professionals will
benefit from an intuitive interface, simple integration of timely sales
intelligence, and constantly curated data. Coupled with the ability to
plug into third-party CRM and Marketing Automation systems, customers
receive their mission-critical data when, where and how they need it.
"We are excited to combine our world-class company and contact data with
Avention's best-in-class technology that is fully integrated with the
leading software platforms utilized by B2B sales professionals and
marketers," said Josh Peirez, president and chief operating officer of
Dun & Bradstreet. "Avention is a natural fit that will allow us to
deliver tremendous value to customers, and the synergies we can capture
put the value of this deal well above the purchase price of the
acquisition."
For further detail on the benefits to our customers, visit www.dnb.com/avention.
About Dun & Bradstreet®
Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE: DNB) grows the most valuable relationships in
business. By uncovering truth and meaning from data, we connect our
customers with the prospects, suppliers, clients and partners that
matter most, and have since 1841. Nearly ninety percent of the Fortune
500, and companies of every size around the world, rely on our data,
insights and analytics. For more about Dun & Bradstreet, visit DNB.com.
Twitter: @DnBUS
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170110006214/en/
