Cision to Go Public in $2.4 Billion Merger

CommPRO Editorial StaffGTCR, the parent company of Cision, a leading global provider of cloud-based earned media solutions, and Capitol Acquisition Corp. III (NASDAQ: CLAC; "Capitol"), a public investment vehicle, announced they have entered into a definitive agreement in which Cision will become a publicly listed company with an anticipated initial enterprise value of approximately $2.4 billion.CommPRO sat down with Cision CEO Kevin Akeroyd to discuss the positive impact of the announcement to go public.  Cision will use the proceeds from the merger to retire debt, invest "much more aggressively" in cloud-based technology and accelerate its acquisition strategy, Akeroyd said."We appreciate GTCR's ongoing sponsorship, which has been instrumental in building the business, and with this transaction are thrilled to also partner with Capitol as we execute our vision for the company," said Akeroyd. "This transaction marks a key milestone for Cision. We are extremely well positioned to accelerate our growth following our acquisition of PR Newswire and the recent launch of the Cision Communications Cloud™ which enhanced our scale, comprehensive SaaS product set and global reach."

Cision's management team, led by CEO Kevin Akeroyd and CFO Jack Pearlstein, will continue to run the combined company post-transaction.  Capitol Chairman and CEO, Mark Ein, will join the combined company's board of directors and serve as Vice Chairman.  Capitol's President and CFO, Dyson Dryden, will also join the board.

"There is a shift in corporate marketing spend to the earned channel driven by its higher ROI and proven success in building brands and the declining efficacy of traditional paid media advertising," said Mark Ein, Chairman and CEO of Capitol.  "We are investing in Cision, a market leader, to get behind this large, important trend and position the company for accelerated future growth.  We think the combined company will deliver superior returns for investors long into the future."

The rise of marketing technology is driving increased investment in communications and PR.  According to Gartner Inc., marketing technology spend is expected to exceed spend on core enterprise IT by 2017 and is growing at a much faster rate (12% vs. 3%, respectively).  With the effectiveness of paid advertising declining, as evidenced by GlobalWebIndex research indicating that 60% of desktop users have used ad-blockers, marketing technology spend is shifting toward earned media channels. These tailwinds, coupled with strategic flexibility provided by the merger, will broaden Cision's market opportunity beyond leadership in global communications intelligence software and services, a $3 billion industry according to Burton-Taylor International Consulting LLC, into the marketing software market, which IDC estimates will reach $32 billion by 2018, and ultimately into the broader digital marketing and data markets.