Public Label and Match Retail have been scooped up by New York investment advisor and portfolio management firm, Innovatus Capital Partners, almost three years after Match Marketing Group was purchased by U.S. private equity firm Southfield Capital in July 2018.

The two agencies were separated by Match Marketing Group last December to provide clarity of purpose, so that each one could clearly articulate what makes them different.

Toronto’s Match Retail helps brands like Rogers and Telus get “retail ready” and drive conversion in shopping environments, assisting with merchandising, sales, training/demos and retail management services. 

Meanwhile, Public Label (based out of Boulder, Colorado and Toronto) offers integrated advertising and shopper and experiential services for the likes of Mars Wrigley and Adidas and recently announced the addition of Stephanie Sumner to its leadership team to grow its North American business.

According to a release, Innovatus’ acquisition marks the next stage of evolution for Public Label and Match Retail.

Brian Cohen, CEO of Public Label and Match Retail (pictured) tells strategy that the deal with Innovatus Capital Partners came about after being in discussions for quite some time. “We did consider alternative structures, we considered some strategic structures, some financial structures, and this was the best fit given the philosophical alignment.”

Cohen says that there is nothing in the roadmap that says it’s going to restructure the organization, but rather that it will add to its existing structure. He notes that AI and data intelligence are areas they’re interested in, and that they want to provide more scale and depth in this space.

The Public Label and Match Retail purchase comes on the heels of Innovatus’ buyout of VSA Partners in January, a leading design and brand experience agency based in Chicago with offices in New York and San Francisco. Cohen says that having a partnership with that agency provides complementary capabilities.

Parent company Match Marketing Group was founded in 1998 in Toronto, later expanding with U.S. headquarters in Connecticut, as well as offices in Montreal, Colorado, Maryland and Chicago.