Social Chain, a digital marketing startup founded by Dragon’s Den star Steven Bartlett, will be acquired by rival firm Brave Bison for an initial fee of £7.7m.
Founded in Manchester in 2014 by Bartlett, Social Chain creates social media marketing campaigns based around influencers for major brands. The company works with clients like TikTok, Amazon, and KFC.
Brave Bison, a fellow social media marketing startup, said that the acquisition fee for the company could rise to more than $20m (£16.3m) depending on the performance of the business over the next three years.
“We’ve long admired Social Chain, which we believe is among the world’s best-regarded social media and influencer marketing brands, and we’re excited by the highly relevant clients it brings into our business,” said Brave Bison chairman Oliver Green.
“Social Chain has huge potential for growth within Brave Bison, taking the momentum Pete and the team have built up using Steven Bartlett’s platform.”
Social Chain CEO, Peter Metcalfe, added: “Joining with Brave Bison is a great move for us. This will only help to enhance our plans to grow the Social Chain proposition and build on our continued success.”
“We are excited to work closely with like-minded people that align with our culture. It not only gives us the opportunity to build combined services for clients.”
Bartlett, who hosts the Diary of a CEO podcast, stepped down as company director back in September 2020. Whether he stands to financially gain from the acquisition is unknown, although he has lent his support to the deal.
He said the startup “was my first big success in business. It’s great to see two young entrepreneurial brothers building Brave Bison with the same energy Social Chain brings to the table. They should be a great fit.”
In January, Bartlett launched a $100m (£81m) investment fund targeting startups in the space, biotech, blockchain, and health tech industries.