In view of the difficulties that companies have in growing their sales, marketing services companies are increasingly in demand. In 2012, investment operations were carried out in the sector with the expectation of future market growth.

Nazca acquires 100% from Ovelar merchandising

Nazca Capital at the end of 2012 acquired 100% of the share capital of Ovelar MerchandisingThe company, a provider of visual communication and point-of-sale promotion solutions for the large-scale retail sector in Spain and Mexico, for 28 million euro.

Founded 30 years ago, Ovelar Merchandising develops and produces global and innovative solutions to facilitate and stimulate commercial work at the point of sale in large retail outlets (price indicator supports, solutions for shelf organisation, etc.). The company's client portfolio includes the main distribution companies, both Spanish and multinational, for which it works from the conception of the product to its staging at the point of sale. Ovelar Merchandising has 135 employees and a turnover of 26 million euros in 2011.

«Es un ejemplo de ventas de un fondo a otro. Venderán su participación una parte de la familia Ovelar, fundadores de la compañía, y el fondo Tandem Capital, que contaba con un 38% del capital de Ovelar Merchandising. Naza pretende rentabilizar su inversión mediante el crecimiento de la compañía en el mercado internacional principalmente en Latinoamerica, donde ya tiene posición de liderazgo en México, y acaba de abrir oficinas en Colombia y en Chile como plataforma de desarrollo desde donde espera entrar en otros mercados en los próximos meses», analiza Diego Gutiérrez de ABRA INVEST experts in SME growth and financing.

Portilla y Velasco has received funding from the Gijón emprende Seed Fund.

Portilla & Velasco was created in 1996 and was one of the first companies in Asturias to offer Internet solutions.It specialises in providing value-added services in the field of Communication, e-learning and ICT: web solutions (portals, extranets and intranets, B2B and B2C platforms, purchasing centres, e-recruitment, e-procurement, internet presence, e-learning (Content Factory services), corporate communication, 3D projects and graphic design (annual reports, catalogues, brochures, editorial line, packaging, corporate identity, etc).

The Gijón Invierte II Seed Capital Fund is aimed at providing financing under preferential conditions to new innovative business initiatives, with no guarantee other than the viability of the project itself through the figure of the participative loan. The total amount raised in Portilla y Velasco was €500,000 together with other private investors.

Is technology a differential or a commodity?

Estamos viendo varias operaciones de inversión por parte de Venture capital, principalmente americano, en compañías tecnológicas relacionadas con el marketing. «La generación de leads, la mejora de la relación y fidelidad con el  cliente, la mejor segmentación de los clientes, etc son algunas de las aplicaciones utilziadas por dichas compañías. Por ejemplo el BBVA ha entrado en Radius un proveedor herramientas de inteligencia de negocio aplicada al marketing y orientada al mercado de pymes. En España, hay una oportunidad para quien sepa utilizar y sacar el máximo provecha a la tecnología más puntera» comenta Diego Gutierrez.