Magazine Discount Center Acquired By Synapse Group
When browsing through my LinkedIn contacts, I recently noticed that several who had previously worked for Magazine Discount Center now had Synapse Group, Inc. listed as their employer as of late 2016.
Knowing the industry, I read this as a likely sign of a quiet acquisition. Magazine Discount Center (“MDC”) has become well-known for its consistently high rankings in Google search results for discounts and deals searches for the names of major magazine titles. The company has gradually grown over time, and is a reseller or affiliate partner to a few of the major publisher companies.
I discreetly sent a note to Synapse’s Vice President of Communications, Kristen Kish, and she responded that Synapse had indeed acquired MDC, but that the terms of the agreement were confidential
Following my inquiry, Synapse Group has now posted this piece on their blog mentioning the acquisition:
https://www.synapsegroupinc.com/resources/acquisition-anniversary/
As you can see from the article, Synapse Group did indeed acquire Magazine Discount Center this year. From the context provided in the notice, the two companies had worked together closely in the past, with Synapse Group likely providing magazine subscription management services for Magazine Discount Center’s customers.
Time’s Synapse Group manages the subscriptions of many millions of consumers throughout the U.S., so such a partnership would make sense. An acquisition was a logical next move, and one of good business acumen on the part of Synapse CEO Sebastien Bilodeau. While, as the article states, many acquisitions fail, a well-researched acquisition of a known partner is likely to be highly profitable.
Does this portend that there are is likely to be further consolidation in subscription sales websites?
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