Calgary-based Xentel DM, a fundraising teleservices and event marketing firm, has established a beachhead in the U.S. market with the acquisition of U.S.-based The Gehl Corporation and its affiliate, Advanced Technology Concepts (ATC).
The purchase extends Xentel’s core competencies southward since Gehl also specializes in cause-related event marketing and call centre management.
The bid covers all of Gehl and ATC’s key assets, including client contracts, customer databases, call centre locations and event marketing subsidiaries.
Gehl had revenues of nearly CDN$75 million in 1998. ‘It complements our already-strong Canadian niche in the event marketing arena,’ says Geoff Pickering, president of Xentel DM. ‘We’ve set out to build a company with an international mandate.’
Gehl’s specialty is the creation and marketing of sports and entertainment events for U.S. charities and non-profits. Currently operating in 31 states, the company has over 2,000 employees and staged 300 events in 1998.
Xentel DM creates, markets and presents sports and entertainment for non-profit clients in Canada and the U.S., specializing in family-oriented live entertainment events for targeted audiences. Event sponsors receive a participation fee based upon attendance.
Clients include law enforcement organizations, Shrine Temples, International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) affiliates and members, and other not-for-profit organizations.
Xentel, which trades on the Alberta Stock Exchange, said the Gehl acquisition is still subject to financing and approvals but is expected to close this month.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Also in this report:
– Non-profits take on private-sector marketing tactics: Rapidly growing ranks, donor fatigue forcing change p.D20
– Pinnacle making inroads south of the border: Winning assignments from U.S. charities targeting U.S. donors p.D21
