DENVER: Mountaingate Capital (“Mountaingate”) today announced that Mountaingate Fund III has made its first investment, partnering with Podean, a globally recognized marketplace agency, and Commerce Canal, a leader in marketplace strategy and operations. The combined company establishes a powerful platform for high-growth global brands, bringing together Podean’s global strategy, analytics, media, social commerce and content solutions with Commerce Canal’s marketplace optimization strategy, brand, licensor and licensee management capabilities.

The strategic combination of Podean and Commerce Canal enables the delivery of an end-to-end solution, powered by the proprietary Purvey.AI data and insights platform. The integrated offering, spanning all major marketplaces including Amazon, Walmart, Costco, Target, Instacart, and Mercado Libre, is designed to drive accelerated growth and sales for clients.

Together, the combined company will create the largest independent global marketplace focused agency and will have more than 200 team members across 17 countries on 5 continents, supporting over 200 brands and licensees globally. Clients of the combined platform include Mattel, Danone, Wella, De’Longhi, Revolution Beauty, Colgate-Palmolive, Luxottica, Spectrum Brands, Shure, OluKai, Steve Madden, AB InBev, Skechers and Fruit of the Loom.

“We are thrilled to facilitate this strategic combination and partner with Mark, Travis, Ryan, and both teams at Podean and Commerce Canal,” said Will Benton, Principal at Mountaingate Capital. “Following our successful partnerships with Tinuiti and Mars United Commerce in the commerce marketing space, we believe the combined company is uniquely positioned to deliver outstanding growth and value for clients through their comprehensive global marketplace service offering, powered by the proprietary Purvey.AI data and insights platform. We are excited to support the next phase of growth through both organic initiatives and additional strategic acquisitions.”

Mark Power, who founded Podean in 2019, commented, “It has always been our vision to build the leading independent agency servicing clients on marketplaces around the world. The addition of Commerce Canal further deepens our marketplace strategy and operations and embeds deep data and AI into our processes to deliver insights and optimizations with scale and speed.”

Ryan Craver, Commerce Canal’s founder, added, “We’re excited to join forces with Podean, a respected industry leader, to deliver a truly differentiated, machine learning driven offering powered by our Purvey.AI platform. Together, we’ll help brands expand globally through Podean’s global reach, creative expertise, and social commerce capabilities.”

Travis Johnson, Podean’s CEO, concluded, “This is the beginning of something unique and at scale in the market. Commerce Canal is the perfect complement to Podean’s current global offering. We’re excited to join forces and leverage our combined capabilities as one team of marketplace experts.”

The three agency founders will transition into new roles and be key board members within the larger platform. Mark will focus on growth of relationships, talent and clients. Ryan will focus on the strategy and analytics disciplines within the business. Travis will be the Chief Executive Officer.

More about Mountaingate Capital

Mountaingate Capital is a Colorado-based private equity firm that specializes in partnering with founders and entrepreneurial companies to accelerate growth and build industry leaders. Mountaingate’s focus on organic growth, coupled with its customer-centric buy-and-build approach for add-on acquisitions, and shared equity ownership with management, creates more value for the end customer, while forging stronger, more collaborative, and more successful investment partnerships with management teams. With over $1.4 billion of assets under management, Mountaingate targets investments in marketing services, business services, specialty manufacturing and distribution. For more information on Mountaingate, please visit www.mountaingate.com.

More about Podean

Podean is the only truly global, independent marketplace agency, with operations across five continents. Founded in 2019, the firm has grown to approximately 180 employees worldwide. Podean holds industry-leading Amazon credentials, including Advanced Amazon Partner status, and was awarded Amazon’s Global Expansion Partner of the Year in 2023.

Podean partners with the world’s most sophisticated brands across categories, delivering an extensive suite of end-to-end marketplace services. Its offerings span global strategy, retail operations, content, analytics, media, and social commerce across leading platforms including Amazon, Walmart, Target, Instacart, and Mercado Libre. Through its LiveCraft division, Podean is a pioneer in social commerce, leveraging influencers and live shopping, and was among TikTok’s earliest accredited agency partners.

https://podean.com

More About Commerce Canal

Commerce Canal, founded in 2016, is a New York City based marketplace management firm that began as a pureplay Amazon agency and has since expanded into a full-service partner for mid-market brands and licensees. The company combines a consultative approach with deep expertise in supply chain, logistics, and retail operations, with a particular focus on the apparel sector.

In addition to advanced Amazon capabilities, Commerce Canal drives client success across platforms including Costco, Target, Macy’s, Walmart, and Wayfair. The firm is also a leader in Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), helping brands adapt to AI-powered shopping journeys on platforms like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot. Its proprietary technology platform, Purvey.AI, leverages machine learning to optimize demand forecasting, reporting, inventory management, and product catalog operations.

https://www.commercecanal.com
https://purvey.ai

Fonte: Business Wire