FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Simpli.fi, the programmatic marketing platform built for the scale of localization and personalization, has announced that Chicago-based private equity firm GTCR will acquire a Majority Stake in the company for an undisclosed amount.

“We are extremely pleased with this significant outcome,” said Nick MacShane, Founding Partner. “One of the first investments from our second fund, Simpli.fi has emerged as the leading Real-Time Bidding (RTB) platform built for localized advertising campaigns. The company has gained considerable traction over the last few years with a continued focus to add innovative technology to drive tens of thousands of hyper-local advertising campaigns. The team, led by founders Frost Prioleau and Paul Harrison, has brought the company to success time and time again, so it is no surprise they have found a great partner to take their business to the next level. Congratulations to the Simpli.fi team!”

“Nick, Sam, and the team at Progress Ventures have been an invaluable resource for us at Simpli.fi,” said Frost Prioleau, Co-Founder and CEO at Simpli.fi. “They were an early investor – using their foresight to recognize the value and the potential of the company in the local advertising market – and have provided continuous insights into the ad-tech and media industry. More than investors, they have been advisors and friends to Simpli.fi through our entire life-cycle, and we are thankful for their strong partnership.”

Speaking more generally to Progress Ventures’ investment strategy, Founding Partner Sam Thompson noted, “Given the nature of our narrow industry focus on Marketing and Media technology, we found it best to expand our network outside of Greater Boston and New York City. Both remain key markets for our firm and portfolio, yet by extending our geographic reach and access to the best platforms and technologies, we have a unique position to drive the next generation of media and marketing strategies across all media channels.”

Progress Ventures is composed of three funds: PVF1, launched in 2008 as a pledge fund to participate in pre-seed investments that include MediaMath, Dstillery, and Integral Ad Science; PVF2, launched in Q4 2010 to invest in seed-stage tech investments that include Skyword, Localytics, Simpli.fi, Qualia, Trust Metrics, and Pixability; PVF3, launched in 2014 with investments that include CraveLabs, LISNR, IRIS.TV, Tru Optik, and Massive Interactive. Across the three funds, active investments are in MA, CT, NY, OH, TX, and CA.

About Simpli.fi
Simpli.fi is the leader in localized programmatic advertising. Simpli.fi works with the largest buyers of localized advertising, including brands, agencies, local media groups, networks, and trading desks. These companies utilize Simpli.fi to localize ad targeting and content, to deliver performance on high volumes of localized campaigns, and to provide deep insights on their dynamic audiences. For more information about the company, visit www.simpli.fi.

About GTCR
Founded in 1980, GTCR is a leading private equity firm focused on investing in growth companies in the Financial Services & Technology, Healthcare, Technology, Media & Telecommunications and Growth Business Services industries. The Chicago-based firm pioneered The Leaders Strategy™ – finding and partnering with management leaders in core domains to identify, acquire and build market-leading companies through transformational acquisitions and organic growth. Since its inception, GTCR has invested more than $12 billion in over 200 companies. For more information, please visit www.gtcr.com.

About Progress Ventures
With more than 30 combined years in the industry, Progress Ventures' management team has a strong network of investors, advisors, executives, CEOs, and managers who can provide valuable market guidance to the firm's portfolio companies. Progress exclusively seeks marketing and media technology companies, including those in the worlds of ad tech, social, mobile, search, and analytics. For more information, please visit www.progressventures.com.