Catamount Group’s president Tina MacNicholl has purchased the company from its corporate parent Kowabunga Inc., which until recently was known as Think Partnership Inc. Details concerning the all cash transaction have not been disclosed.
MacNicholl independently founded Catamount in July 1998. Bethel, CT-based Catamount has nearly 100 list properties under management, including numerous files for Reader’s Digest.
Think Partnership acquired Catamount in January 2006, when Catamount concurrently merged with Morex Marketing Group, then a list management client and operator of the Internet registry BabyToBee.com. Now Kowabunga owns the Web site.
“I was happy to buy Catamount because I still believe in our medium, said MacNicholl. A lot of list companies are merging and being acquired, but I still think there’s room for boutique agencies.”
Kowabunga says it plans to concentrate more on search engine marketing, online advertising and affiliate marketing, which it perceives as having a greater growth potential in the future than the list business (Direct Newsline, July 1, 2008).
Catamount will continue to offer management and brokerage services for postal lists, although MacNicholl too is counting on Internet media for future expansion. Earlier this summer, Catamount introduced new services for search engine marketing, pay per click services and management of e-mail databases. “We’re no longer just doing postal list management and brokerage,” she said.
Postal list rentals have been declining for Catamount as direct marketers pursue multiple channels, according to MacNicholl.
“It’s what our clients are doing and we’re here to help them acquire customers,” she said. “That’s why I’m investing in this company and we’re offering a new suite of services,” she said.
No staff changes are planned, she added.
