Growww Digital
Absolvo advised Growww Digital – Hungary’s leading CEE-focused digital marketing agency – on a complex transaction involving a founder exit, management buyout, and minority stake acquisition by Polish strategic partner Bluerank, to support the firm’s continued growth and regional expansion.
Deal summary
Growww Digital, Hungary’s leading digital marketing agency specializing in CEE markets, offering performance marketing, social media, brand communication, and content marketing services in 9 countries and 10 languages, successfully completed a transaction involving a minority stake acquisition by Bluerank and a management buyout, that enabled one founder's exit and supported Growww Digital's growth and international expansion plans.
Deal rationale
One of the founders was looking for an exit, while the other founder still had growth plans, wanted to involve current management members as shareholders also. So, a complex project plan formulated: MBO combined with bank financing and inviting a strategic partner into the company. Neither party wanted a pure financial investor, but having a real strategic partner able to exploit synergies. Bluerank, being one of the largest independent digital marketing agencies of Poland understood the opportunity and found great value in joining forces with Growww Digital. As the companies knew each other well, finding common ground and vision was easy. Another level of regional cooperation can start.
Absolvo's contribution
Our M&A team provided comprehensive advisory services throughout the transaction process by preparing investor documents showcasing company strengths, reviewing and validating financial plans, conducting company valuation for the bank financing, supporting and coordinating investor negotiations, aligning offer terms, assisting with due diligence, negotiating SPA (Sale and Purchase Agreement) and SHA (Shareholders’ Agreement), and coordinating signing and closing, and related other deal-related tasks.
We placed ourselves in the best hands during Growww Digital’s year-end ownership transition in 2022. The transaction’s complexity—combining a partial management buyout and the entry of a strategic investor—was handled with outstanding professionalism, empathy, and responsiveness by Lénárd Horgos and his team, making Absolvo the ideal M&A partner, especially for deals involving the CEE region.
Krisztian Dunder • Co-Founder, CEO of Growww Digital
The deal team
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