Hem-based Positive Group (formerly Sarbacane Group), a marketing technology company, announced on Tuesday that it has secured $110M (approximately €110M) in a fresh funding round from EMZ and banking institutions.
The company has renamed itself to Groupe Positive (Positive Group) to facilitate the distinction between the development and ambition of the group and the historical activity of Sarbacane.
Besides funding and rebranding, the French company also announced that it has acquired data management company Marketing 1BY1, marking its third acquisition in two years. Marketing 1BY1 develops a CDP (Customer Data Platform).
With this acquisition, Positive Group aims to acquire data expertise. Further, it will allow the company to set up an ultra-personalised customer approach without implementing heavy and complex solutions.
Mathieu Tarnus, CEO of Positive Group, says, “The arrival of Marketing 1BY1 within the Positive group is a great opportunity for our respective customers. Offering the best CDP platforms to Sarbacane customers and all the features of the Sarbacane solution for Marketing 1BY1 customers. We are delighted to welcome them to our great tribe.”
The Positive Group’s mission is to support digital innovation through easy-to-use technologies, top-tier customer support, and a strong European presence.
Marketing 1BY1: What you need to know
Based out of North France, Marketing 1BY1 developed a Customer Data Platform (CDP) for marketing and CRM teams.
The solution allows them to centralise, exploit and animate data, pilot their CRM strategy, and personalise the omnichannel customer experience.
Marketing 1BY1 works with 25 companies, mainly in e-commerce, retail, and tourism.
Benoît Venière, CEO and founder of Marketing 1BY1, says, “The 1BY1 solution that we develop centralises, for each of our customers, all the online and offline data of their consumers. Thanks to this database, they benefit from a 360° view of their business and can use it to carry out highly personalised and automated marketing actions. This new partnership is also an opportunity to make Big Data technologies accessible to all types of companies.”
Positive Group: What you need to know
The Positive Group (Mailify outside of France) is a software publisher dedicated to business communication.
Since its inception in 2001, the group has added several solutions based on its expertise to support companies in their digital communications. It claims to support 25,000 customers worldwide daily.
“Three years ago, we started a new phase of growth by continuing to develop our historical activities and allowing ourselves to make targeted acquisitions to grow faster, enlarge our functional scope and expand abroad. We needed the right partners aligned with our values, vision, and ambition to implement this strategy. An equation that has been solved through our discussions with the EMZ teams in addition to IDI, who joined us in 2020. We are pleased to welcome them to the group’s capital,” says Mathieu Tarnus.
EMZ: What you need to know
Based in Paris and Munich, EMZ has made 150 investments since 1999 for €4.5B.
EMZ invests with SME managers who want to strengthen their shareholding or finance strategic external growth operations.
EMZ’s scope of intervention includes France, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, through investment tickets ranging from $10M to $200M.
“Led by a management team built around the tandem of Mathieu Tarnus, the group’s founder, and Paul de Fombelle, its CEO, this transaction is at the heart of EMZ’s investment strategy. We support experienced teams who want to be involved as shareholders alongside us. We are very pleased to bring our human and financial contribution to this talented team and support its ambitious external growth strategy,” Charles Mercier and Ajit Jayaratnam of EMZ say.
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