Group IMD, a portfolio company of Vitruvian Partners, completed its majority recapitalisation by Inflexion Private Equity back in September. IMD is a global technology business that provides services across the video advertising workflow. Their cloud platform solution connects and is used by agencies, production companies, broadcasters and other digital media channels.

OC&C Strategy Consultants acted as commercial adviser to IMD in this process. “This was a highly interesting process to support,” says Ewan Parry, a Partner in OC&C’s TMT practice and responsible for the engagement. “Our task was really bringing to life for potential buyers what a central role the IMD solution plays in the video advertising workflow.”

“Collaboration platforms like this make a big difference in the way industries work and the way the different participants work together, and IMD is no exception,” Parry says. “It is not that long ago that copies were couriered in physical format – on the back of a bike or similar – between agencies and production companies and to broadcasters.”

Parry continues: “The IMD solution has fundamentally changed this – and the associated economics – in mature markets. The IMD offering automates processes, connects players across the video advertising value chain, and transforms the way they interact.”

There are still some major markets that are less developed, in Japan and China, physical distribution is still the rule rather than the exception. “This is, however, undergoing change,” Parry says, “and IMD is an important part in this evolution.”

There are other solutions in the market place aiming to serve the same needs as IMD, but Parry remarks that in being fully cloud-based, the IMD solution is unique: “It is pretty much alone in offering a global and fully automated self-service solution in this space. It is an integral part of the workflow and saves users time and cost, reduces risk and complexity, and supports collaboration.”

He concludes: “This is an excellent example of a cloud-based offering that operates in a niche market but has gained great traction within its industry and therefore has a significant impact on how the industry collaborates”. The IMD solution is used by agencies, production companies, broadcasters and other digital media channels, and it connects over 2,500 clients and 14,000 media channels in more than 100 countries.