InfoUSA has signed a deal to purchase list and brokerage firm Mokrynskidirect. The company will become part of InfoUSA’s Donnelley Marketing unit, which encompasses list firms Edith Roman, Millard Group, and Walter Karl, among others.
Don Mokrynski will stay on board as a consultant, and Dennis Bissig, the company’s president, will remain in that role and answer to Ed Mallin, president of the Donnelley Group. The Mokrynskidirect name and brand will remain intact, according to Mallin.
While specific terms of the cash transaction were not disclosed, in late 2005 InfoUSA acquired Millard Group for $12.4 million. At the time, Millard had annual revenue of around $14 million-$15 million. In comparison, Mokrynskidirect generates annual revenue in the $10 million-$11 million range, according to InfoUSA president and CEO Vinod Gupta.
“Mokrynski’s strength has always been in the consumer catalog industry,” said Mallin. “With Millard, these are the two blue chip brands in the space. We gain access to clients we feel are growing, clients that need lots of capabilities. We wanted to strengthen our position in this vertical.”
Joining InfoUSA will allow Mokrynskidirect to expand the services it offers its clients. Specifically, the company had moved into online analytics and e-mail delivery capabilities, and looks to offer InfoUSA’s suite of competencies in these areas to its clients, according to Bissig.
The 28-year-old list firm is only the latest in an aggressive acquisition campaign by infoUSA. In addition to Edith Roman, Millard Group and Walter Karl, within the last ten years the company has acquired e-mail service firms Yesmail Inc., @once and ClickAction; list and data processing firm Getko Direct; business information company OneSource Information Services; and City Directory, and nearly 20 others.
While neither Gupta nor Mallin would offer specifics, both indicated that InfoUSA’s acquisition spree was likely far from over. “The ultimate goal is to take this company to a billion-dollar level within the next four-to-five years,” said Gupta. In 2005, the company reported $383.2 million in sales and $543.8 million in assets.
