Menlo Park, CA & London, United Kingdom – July 20, 2021 – Accel-KKR Credit Partners announced that it recently provided debt financing to support SFW Capital Partners’ majority investment in Captify, the largest independent processor of search data outside of Google. Captify identifies advertising audiences for agencies and brands in real-time through using natural language processing to analyze searches from over two billion devices globally. Accel-KKR Credit Partners is a credit fund managed by Accel-KKR, a leading global software-focused investment firm headquartered in Silicon Valley.
Captify has been on the forefront of protecting consumer privacy while offering predictive insights for advertisers. The software uses contextual search intelligence to understand interest and intent without relying on individual consumers’ proprietary cookies. Captify is well positioned to be a leader in the “cookieless” future of advertising technology.
“As the global advertising industry prepares to put privacy first and advertisers actively shift their dependencies away from Google, Captify is uniquely positioned to deliver intent-based advertising from search data,” said Dominic Joseph, CEO and Co-Founder of Captify. “More importantly, to do so in the most privacy-centric way and in support of the open web. We are forging a new era of advertising for everyone — the consumer, the advertiser and the publisher. Captify is poised to become a global leader in adtech with the support from our new partners.”
In 2020, Captify launched a self-service platform that offers customers the ability to select preferences through Captify’s software. The platform provides advertisers with the functionality to execute on their own campaigns while identifying and analyzing search trends. The product has been well received globally and has particularly resonated with the United States advertiser market.
“We are very excited to partner with Captify co-founder and CEO Dominic Joseph and his team in supporting the growth of the most powerful search intent data-driven marketing solution serving the open web,” said Omair Sarwar, Partner at SFW Capital Partners. “When selecting a lending partner, it was crucial to find a firm that understood software and advertising technology. Accel-KKR provided a smooth execution and delivered as promised. We look forward to their continued support as we execute on our value creation plan.”
“Advertising technology has experienced a significant evolution in the last ten years,” said Samantha Shows, Managing Director at Accel-KKR. “The next stage of growth for the industry will be driven by leaders in consumer data protection which positions Captify well. SFW Capital Partners has a well-developed thesis around the space and has strong alignment with the Captify management team. We are excited to see the business grow in the years to come.”
About Captify:
Captify is the leading Search Intelligence Platform for the open web and the largest independent holder of first-party search data outside of Google, connecting the real-time searches from over 2 billion devices globally. Its Search Intelligence technology powers omnichannel programmatic advertising and real-time insights for the world’s biggest brands, such as Disney, Unilever, eBay, Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, Nestle, GSK, Uber, Mars, P&G, Sony, and Toyota—without reliance on third-party cookies. Captify brings brands more customers, publishers greater yield, and consumers the most relevant digital experiences.
About SFW Capital Partners, LP:
SFW Capital Partners is a specialized private equity firm that invests in leading Information, Software, Industrial and Healthcare Technology companies. These companies, which include providers of information, software, instrumentation, laboratory products, and related solutions, provide a high return on investment to their customers and can serve a wide variety of end-markets. Our principals’ 25+ years of investing in and experience with relevant business models, technologies, competitive dynamics and service requirements gives us confidence in our ability to support management teams in growing their companies and building value. For more information, visit www.sfwcap.com.
About Accel-KKR:
Accel-KKR is a technology-focused investment firm with over $10 billion in capital commitments. The firm focuses on software and IT-enabled businesses, well-positioned for topline and bottom-line growth. At the core of Accel-KKR’s investment strategy is a commitment to developing strong partnerships with the management teams of its portfolio companies and a focus on building value alongside management by leveraging the significant resources available through the Accel-KKR network. Accel-KKR focuses on middle-market companies and provides a broad range of capital solutions including buyout capital, minority-growth investments, and credit alternatives. Accel-KKR also invests across a wide range of transaction types including private company recapitalizations, divisional carve-outs and going-private transactions. In 2019 and 2020, Inc. named Accel-KKR to “PE 50 – The Best Private Equity Firms for Entrepreneurs“, an annual list of founder-friendly private equity firms. Accel-KKR is headquartered in Menlo Park with additional offices in Atlanta and London. To learn more, visit accel-kkr.com.
About Accel-KKR Credit Partners:
Accel-KKR Credit Partners provides debt financing to leading software businesses. The fund structures non-dilutive investments for founder-owned businesses and flexible credit products for institutionally-owned businesses. The debt capital is used to support acquisitions, dividends, shareholder buy-backs and growth investment. Accel-KKR Credit Partners has completed over 30 investments and deployed over $400 million in capital.
