Edgy ads, cushy deal

(FSB Magazine) -- Ignite health, a health-care advertising agency in Irvine, Calif., isn't known for feel-good fare. Its best-known product is an online series that takes a no-holds-barred look at living with HIV. But in late February the firm found its own happy ending: It was purchased by inVentiv Health (inventivhealth.com) of Somerset, N.J., for $20 million in cash and stock, with further payments contingent upon meeting earnings targets.

Founded in January 2001 by four partners headed by CEO Jackie Herr, Ignite (ignitehealth.com) brought in $15 million in 2006 producing ads and educational spots about chronic diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B, and breast cancer for clients that include Bausch & Lomb and Eli Lilly. According to Herr, while the tech-driven company 70% of its work is online was growing, it sought a partner to help it expand overseas; inVentive fit that bill. "They told us, 'You keep doing what you do. You can keep the same management team and the same culture. You'll just have a bigger resource pool,'" says Herr, 45. Peter King, CEO of VR Business Brokers (vrbusinessbrokers.com), an M&A firm in Fort Lauderdale, says the deal for just a little more than one year's revenues, is a good one for inVentiv.