Advantage sells digital marketing agency Adlucent as part of plan to simplify portfolio

Advantage Solutions announced today that it has sold digital marketing agency Adlucent to BarkleyOKRP, the latest step in the company’s efforts to simplify its portfolio and focus on its core businesses.

Terms of the sale, which closed today, were not disclosed. Advantage said it plans to use most of the proceeds to pay down debt and further strengthen its financial position.

“While Adlucent has built strong partnerships and relationships with leading digital platforms, brands and retailers, we believe the agency will be better positioned to succeed within a digitally focused independent agency like BarkleyOKRP,” said Dave Peacock, CEO of Advantage Solutions . Edition. “This deal will allow Advantage to prioritize other growth efforts in a more targeted manner to ensure we continue to provide best-in-class services to our customers.”

Adlucent, which provides high-quality media activation across most major paid channels including search, social, CTV and others, has built business relationships with top platforms including Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta. Although it has direct relationships with major brands and retailers, Adlucent’s customers are largely distinct from Advantage’s core.

“We are proud of the work Adlucent has accomplished under Advantage, and we are confident the Adlucent team will achieve even greater success with BarkleyOKRP,” said Peacock.

As part of the deal, Austin, Texas-based Adlucent, a performance media company that Advantage acquired in 2016, will integrate into BarkleyOKRP, one of the largest independent full-service marketing and consulting firms in the US. Approximately 180 Adlucent employees will move to BarkleyOKRP’s broader media practice, and Ashwani Dhar, CEO of Adlucent, will become Chief Performance Officer at BarkleyOKRP.

Jeff King, CEO of BarkleyOKRP, said in a press release that the acquisition of Adlucent “supports our strategic vision to scale integrated media capabilities, expand technology and grow our media team to more than 250 experts, driving consumer and the ROI for our customers is stimulated.”

The sale is Advantage’s latest business initiative, focused on its broader plan to simplify its portfolio, enabling greater focus on the company’s core capabilities to build a stronger balance sheet and enable growth.

It follows a series of deals completed over the past six months, including January’s sale of its collection of foodservice businesses, December’s restructuring of its joint venture operating in Europe and October’s sale of Atlas Technology Group.

“While it is never easy to say goodbye to valued and talented teammates, it is critical to simplify our operations and sharpen our focus on serving customers and clients in our core businesses,” said Peacock.