The combination creates the largest provider of B2B commerce solutions in North America, enabling $4 billion in wholesale transactions annually for 300,000 retailers.
Denver, Colorado (October 21, 2021)—The Forbes M&A Group, an award-winning middle market investment bank, served as the exclusive advisor to Brandwise, a provider of sales enablement tools in the gift and home industries, on its sale to MarketTime, a provider of B2B omnichannel commerce solutions. Both companies, who had a prior relationship, believe the transaction and new structure makes them stronger together. Brandwise founders, Todd and Jannetta Litzman, will remain active leaders in the new company, which retains the name MarketTime.
“As founders and operators, we wanted to be sure we had the best possible M&A team to help us achieve the best possible outcome for ourselves and our shareholders,” said Brandwise President & CEO, Todd Litzman. “We chose Forbes because of their reputation and their deep knowledge of the SaaS sector. They helped us to navigate through obstacles and served as a voice of reason among the varied parties throughout the process.”
CFO Janetta Litzman added, “Forbes helped us keep on track with an aggressive timeline, closing in just three months. Through their support, we were able to maintain the attractiveness of the deal ensuring that we received the full value for our shareholders and achieved our primary goals for the transaction.”
“Todd and Janetta built a highly respected and talented team that set the standard for the SaaS software, payment processing, and B2B marketplace industry. It felt great to be chosen as their trusted advisors and was a pleasure to collaborate with them to accomplish their goals for the sale,” said Dan Pellegrino, Managing Director & Partner at Forbes. Commenting further, Forbes Managing Director & Partner Jon Wiley said, “It was rewarding to help Brandwise leverage their hard work over the past 20+ years into a strategic partnership that will extend their reach and ensure their continued industry leadership.”
About Brandwise
Brandwise was born from the founders’ need for a better way to handle the burden of processing paper orders. Twenty-three years later, they are internationally known and are trusted with managing a vast portion of the business activity in the gift and home décor industries. Their mission is to empower and simplify the order process by proving sales creation and enablement technology to manage and grow its clients’ businesses and the collective future of the industry. They provide the expertise, process, and platform for businesses in the wholesale industry to create and process orders online or in-person.
About the Forbes M&A Group
The Forbes M+A Group, founded in 2004 with offices in Denver, CO and Salt Lake City, UT is an award-winning investment bank with expertise in mergers and acquisitions, capital formation, and has been acquired by financial restructuring within the middle market. The group has over 17 years of experience delivering outstanding results for business owners, entrepreneurs, and investors. Advisors at The Forbes M+A Group have 250+ years of combined experience in international transactions across a wide variety of industries. The Forbes M+A Group has been recognized as a leader within the middle market as a regional M&A Firm of the Year for the past 5 years. For more information, please visit us at www.forbes-partners.com or phone at (303) 770-6017.
Forbes Media Contact: Kelly FitzGerald 303-558-1462
For more information on this and other transactions, contact The Forbes M+A Team.