LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OpenGate Capital, LLC, a global private buyout firm, announced today that it has signed an agreement with Harte-Hanks, Inc., (NYSE: HHS) to acquire the assets comprising PennySaver including Harte-Hanks Shoppers and PennySaverUSA.com. The PennySaver business provides print and digital, hyper-local, marketing and advertising services to California-based and nationwide customers. Harte-Hanks, Inc., the direct and targeted marketing company, is divesting PennySaver to focus on its core business in digital marketing analytics. The transaction is expected to close before September 30, 2013 and, when complete, the acquired business will operate as PennySaver USA, LLC.
Originally named the Huntington Beach PennySaver, and widely known as PennySaver, the printed publication was first launched in 1962 to serve the advertising needs of local businesses. Today, PennySaver is one of the largest and most well-recognized weekly local advertising publications in North America and is the number one Hispanic marketing publication in the US. Each week, PennySaver serves more than nine thousand unique advertising customers, distributes 85 million inserts, and reaches more than nine million households via the United States Postal Service. PennySaver provides businesses the ability to target a market that is based on geography and demographics in one or any of its 780+ local, weekly editions distributed throughout California.
The digital division of PennySaver provides marketing products and services via online and mobile applications. The online classifieds, coupons and business directory website, PennySaverUSA.com, hosts nearly 4.4 million listings nationwide and offer several advertising options. The digital division also supports small and medium sized businesses by providing digital marketing services including PowerSites and PowerClicks. PowerSites provides full-service website hosting, creation, and maintenance solutions. PowerClicks offers qualified lead generation via search engine marketing and online display advertising.
Andrew Nikou, OpenGate Capital’s founder, Managing Partner and CEO, stated, “We are excited to work with Harte-Hanks on their divestiture of PennySaver. Harte-Hanks worked diligently to find the right partner to not only get a deal completed quickly at a fair price, but to find a partner that could operate and grow the business. We provided the right combination of acquisition and operations solutions, and we’re looking forward to working with the dedicated employees of PennySaver to create the next level of success through the print and digital aspects of the business.”
The business is headquartered in Brea, California, with more than 800 employees and revenues of nearly $200 million.
About OpenGate Capital, LLC
OpenGate Capital, LLC is a global private buyout firm specializing in the acquisition and operation of businesses seeking revitalization through growth and operational improvements. Established in 2005, OpenGate Capital is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, and maintains offices in Paris, France, and São Paulo, Brazil. OpenGate’s professionals possess the critical skills needed to acquire, transition, operate and build successful businesses. To date, OpenGate Capital has executed more than 30 transactions ranging from corporate divestitures to turnaround acquisitions, industry consolidations and other special situation investments. The OpenGate portfolio of wholly owned businesses generates nearly $2 billion in revenue and includes businesses from a wide range of industries and geographic markets. For more information, please visit www.opengatecapital.com.
