Fort Point Capital, a Boston-based lower middle market private equity firm focused on growing business services companies, announced today that it has recently invested in a new platform. Nova (“Nova,” or the “Company”), which has rebranded itself from Polar, is a Toronto-based global leader in creative automation software for digital advertising. Nova enables advertisers to repurpose creative assets originally developed for social platforms to be easily distributed across the open internet, including mobile apps and connected TV. The Company’s core offering allows agencies, ad-tech platforms, publishers, and brands to maximize the value of social creative by running these ads programmatically at scale. The Company will continue to be led by its Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Kunal Gupta, along with Matt Crenshaw (President), Leah Malone (Global Chief Revenue Officer) and Carlo Barrettara (Executive Vice President, Engineering).
Mr. Gupta commented, “I am thrilled to be partnering with Fort Point Capital for our next chapter, utilizing their expertise and resources to accelerate the evolution of our software and organization. As our platform continues to unlock industry-leading performance gains for advertisers, we’ll leverage our data and insights to enhance our platform with new formats and capabilities.”
Fort Point Capital partner Brooke Ablon commented, “We’re excited to partner with the Nova management team as they expand their technology into a broader performance enhancement platform for advertisers. It’s more important than ever that advertisers see clear returns from their digital advertising campaigns. Nova makes this possible through its growing portfolio of innovative creative advertising formats and automation software.”
“We have been extremely impressed by Nova’s strong track record of growth and its ability to deliver innovative solutions to their enterprise clients,” said David Gagliardi, Vice President at Fort Point Capital. “Given the importance of creative in driving performance for digital advertisers, it’s easy to understand why the Company’s pioneering creative automation software has resonated so strongly in the market.”
Nova is Fort Point’s fourteenth platform investment and sixth investment in FPC Small Cap Fund II. Nova also marks Fort Point Capital’s first platform investment in Canada. Over the past 12 months, Fort Point has closed eight transactions, including four new platform investments and four add-on acquisitions in support of its portfolio.
The National Bank of Canada provided debt financing for the transaction. Kirkland & Ellis, Goodmans, and Grant Thornton advised Fort Point Capital, while the Company was advised by Fasken and the Royal Bank of Canada.
About Fort Point Capital
Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Fort Point Capital is a private equity firm that invests in lower middle market, business services companies in partnership with strong management teams. Fort Point Capital is currently investing from FPC Small Cap Fund II. To learn more, please visit fortpointcapital.com.