NEW YORK: Private equity firm Broad Sky Partners has made a significant investment in strategic communications and public affairs agency Bully Pulpit Interactive (BPI), effective this week.
The firm aims to help BPI expand its services base and enter new markets organically and with mergers and acquisitions through Broad Sky’s network, industry expertise and robust value creation capabilities, according to a statement from the firm.
“Organizations today are consolidating responsibilities across communications, public affairs, internal communications, sustainability and more,” BPI president Andrew Bleeker said. “To be a first-chair partner to these leaders, we need to continue to build both our strategic breadth and technical depth. Our new partnership with Broad Sky Partners will fuel this next chapter of growth.”
The investment will also support further development of proprietary platforms to measure impact and the growth of BPI’s employee base as the agency continues to build momentum on its industry-leading talent advantage, the agency said in a statement.
“Broad Sky has long been assessing the communications space, and we believe that BPI is positioned to continue leading the industry thanks to their impressive leadership, talented team, proprietary technology, and outstanding impact for clients,” partner at Broad Sky Partners Jodi Kahn said.
No leadership changes occurred as a result of the investment.
Berenson & Co. served as financial adviser and Morrison Cohen LLP served as legal adviser to Broad Sky. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
BPI’s previous lead sponsor was Svoboda Capital Partners (SCP). The agency partnered with SCP seven years ago and will continue their investor relationship as a minority investor into the next stage of the agency’s evolution. BPI noted the SCP team has been “terrific partners” and their investment has been “crucial into building the outstanding team that exists today.”
The investment comes on the heels of a series of internal changes at BPI. The firm hired White House senior speechwriter to President Joe Biden Jeff Nussbaum as a partner this month, also promoting Robert Gibbs to partner. Lyft and Whole Foods alum Brian McGuigan joined the firm as an MD in March.
BPI partner Ben LaBolt entered the Biden administration as White House communications director in February and former MD Xochitl Hinojosa joined the Department of Justice as director of the office of public affairs.
Broad Sky Partners is a New York-based private equity firm that partners with leading middle market business services and consumer companies. The firm’s other partner companies include Thomas Scientific, Smith+Howard and Fair Harbor.
BPI has more than 200 full-time employees across offices in Washington, DC, Chicago, San Francisco and New York, in addition to its remote workforce. The agency reported an 8% increase in revenue to $47 million globally and in the U.S. in 2021, according to PRWeek’s 2022 Agency Business Report.