February 2018
Equiteq, the knowledge economy M&A specialist, is pleased to announce that it has acted as exclusive financial advisor to Ducker Worldwide, a premier market research and strategy consulting firm, in its sale to Frontier Strategy Group (FSG), a portfolio company of Boathouse Capital. The transaction closed on February 5, 2018.
Founded in 1961, Ducker Worldwide leverages a global platform to provide bespoke market research, commercial due diligence, transaction advisory and strategy consulting services to the automotive, heavy equipment and building products sectors. Deep industry and analytical expertise, proprietary datasets, and high-caliber consultants have enabled the firm to advise leaders of multinational corporate and private equity firms on successful strategic growth initiatives for over 5 decades. FSG’s robust cloud-based technology platform, macro-economic insights, and expertise aligning business strategy and operations to growth, coupled with Ducker’s industry focus, datasets and consulting expertise will provide both firm’s clients with a powerful set of resources. Their combined solutions will better guide business leaders facing continually evolving challenges to sustainable, competitively advantaged positions and long-term commercial success. “This acquisition is designed to maximize the potential of our combined company to better serve our clients and accelerate growth” said Richard Leggett, FSG’s CEO. “The demands of growth and forces of change facing multinational company executives and investment professionals get tougher every year, and by bringing together FSG and Ducker’s highly complementary offerings, areas of expertise and global footprint, we can immediately provide a comprehensive set of solutions that address our clients’ global strategic priorities and growth mandates.” Regarding Equiteq’s role in the transaction Joanne Ulnick, CEO of Ducker Worldwide, said: “We selected Equiteq based on their industry expertise and track record. They worked with us for 18 months prior to embarking on the transaction process and helped us to implement business optimization initiatives that made a real difference when it came to sale. The way Equiteq positioned our business, the professionalism and tenacity with which they ran the process, and the unwavering support gave us confidence throughout this complex transaction.” Adam Tindall, Director, based in Equiteq’s New York office, commented, “Joanne and the Ducker team have done a tremendous job of building the business into the market-leading, world-class custom research and consulting firm that it is today. Having worked with the Ducker team prior to starting the sale process, we were well placed to articulate the various unique attributes of the business to prospective buyers. We were able to leverage our knowledge of the market and experience of selling knowledge-focused businesses to identify acquirers that fitted both strategically and culturally. The combination of Ducker and FSG offer the full spectrum of services multinational company executives need to make decisions in today’s global high-stakes markets and we wish the newly combined team the very best of luck.” To see all of our deals, please click here. ©Equiteq 2018