Hanley Wood and Meyers Research to Merge in Private Equity Acquisition
MidOcean Partners has bought the two companies to build one of the leading information and advisory services in the residential construction space.
Hanley Wood, a b2b media company serving the residential and commercial construction industry, was sold to MidOcean Partners, a private equity firm focused on the business services and consumer sectors, on Tuesday.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
MidOcean also announced today its acquisition of Meyers Research, a market data and advisory services provider for the homebuilding industry, from real estate investment company Kennedy Wilson. MidOcean plans on merging Hanley Wood with Meyers Research, according to a statement.
“Today marks a historic moment for Hanley Wood and Meyers Research. I am thrilled that our organizations have come together as one and look forward to working with these talented teams to continue to push the boundaries of innovation in our industry,” said Meyers Research president and founder Jeff Meyers in a statement. “The combination of these complementary offerings will enable us to accelerate new product development and deliver the most robust capabilities and services in the industry to our customers.”
Jeff Meyers
The newly combined company will be led by Meyers, who will step into the role of CEO, and the current CEO of Hanley Wood, Peter Goldstone, will depart from the company after working to ensure a smooth and successful transition.
“My 18 years at Hanley Wood have been incredibly rewarding and exciting,” said Goldstone in a statement. “It has been an honor to work with all of the outstanding professionals that have made Hanley Wood a company that is respected by all, both within the construction and design markets, and the broader b2b information and media landscape. The past chapter has been one of growth and transformation, positioning Hanley Wood to thrive and expand in the future.”
Meyers, who brings over three decades of experience in the market to the role, had lead Hanley Wood Market Intelligence, Hanley Wood’s old data product that preceded its current Metrostudy, prior to founding Meyers Research in 2006.
As one unit, the combined company will work to offer its clients data revolving around the broad spectrum of the homebuilding industry, leveraging both Metrostudy and Zonda, Hanley Wood’s and Meyers Research’s data products, respectively.
In addition to merging the data services, the new company will work to provide customers with the shared insights from both the advisory side of Meyers Research and Hanley Wood’s b2b media portfolio, which includes Architect magazine and Builder magazine, and marketing services capabilities, including AccountIntel, its stand-alone account-based marketing platform, which launched earlier this year.
“This transformational merger creates a significantly expanded offering for customers and provides for greater benefits and growth opportunities than either company could have achieved alone,” said managing director of MidOcean Barrett Gilmer in a statement. “Additionally, we are thrilled to partner with a seasoned industry executive in Jeff Meyers, and believe that he is uniquely qualified to drive incremental insights for customers given his leadership roles at both Metrostudy and Zonda.”
While there has been no mention of further departures or layoffs on either side of the merger, an experienced management team from both Hanley Wood and Meyers Research will be joining Meyers at the new company.
This is a developing story.
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