DEVON, PENNSYLVANIA – January 15, 2024 – L2 Capital announced that it has made a strategic investment in The iFranchise Group and TopFire Media (“iFranchise” and “TopFire”, respectively or the “Company”, collectively) (https://www.ifranchisegroup.com/) (https://topfiremedia.com/). iFranchise is the market leader in franchise consulting and has been ranked as the #1 franchise consulting and development service provider in Entrepreneur magazine’s annual Top Franchise Suppliers rankings for the past five years. iFranchise provides strategic consulting services to emerging and established franchise concepts. TopFire Media is a leading, full-service digital marketing and public relations firm that primarily serves the franchising industry.
iFranchise was founded in 1998 by CEO Mark Siebert, a long-time franchising consulting expert and author of the best-selling book Franchise Your Business. iFranchise is recognized as the market leader, providing its client with deep, industry specific consulting services that include franchise strategic planning, feasibility studies, operations training and documentation, implementation consulting and coaching, franchise marketing and sales, and best practices audits. iFranchise’s consultants have unrivaled experience across all franchise industry verticals, and several of its consultants have held leadership roles at large franchise concepts. TopFire was established in 2013 in part to meet iFranchise’s clients’ needs of digital marketing and PR services, with a focus on franchise sales and development. TopFire Media, which is routinely among the top marketing providers in Entrepreneur’s survey, provides clients with ongoing digital media, website design, SEO and PPC, and public relations services primarily helping clients in the franchising space.
Peter Batushansky, Partner at L2 Capital, said, “We have been extremely impressed by the iFranchise and TopFire teams and are thrilled to partner with them. We believe that L2 can leverage iFranchise and TopFire Media’s market leading position as we look to achieve breakthrough growth in the Company’s current offerings as well as adjacencies that we have identified. iFranchise and TopFire Media are well known and highly regarded for helping emerging and established franchisors grow, we believe that this platform can continue to offer franchisors and franchisees additional services over a franchise concept’s full lifecycle. We plan to achieve this organically and acquisitively.”
Mark Siebert, who will continue to lead the Company, noted, “I am very excited about our partnership with L2 Capital. We partnered with L2 because of its commitment to excellence and its shared vision for the future of the industry. With the operational focus and experience scaling lower-middle-market companies that L2 brings to the partnership, I am confident that iFranchise Group and TopFire Media will be well positioned for strategic growth in 2024 and beyond.”
Dave Hood, President, added, “We are steadfast in our commitment to providing the utmost in expertise and guidance to our clients. We also understand the ever-changing needs of the franchising marketplace. We see this partnership as an ideal way to ensure that we are providing the best possible results for franchisors, for our teams, and for our stakeholders.”
First Bank of New Jersey, Merion Investment Partners, and Salem Investment Partners provided debt financing for this transaction; Merion and Salem also co-invested alongside L2 Capital. The Company was advised by Boxwood Partners. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
About L2 Capital Partners:
L2 Capital Partners (www.L2Capital.net) is a boutique lower middle market private equity firm that specializes in making controlling investments in a diverse range of family and founder-built companies with demonstrated market leadership and unlocked potential for growth. L2’s impressive track record over the last decade includes top quartile returns for its portfolio of business services and consumer products companies with enterprise values up to $100 million. L2 Capital adds value by partnering closely with company leadership to meet their strategic and financial goals by providing intimate operational support including a breakthrough growth framework in addition to access to resources and technology gained over 40 years of principal investing experience.
For additional information, contact L2 Capital at info@L2Capital.net or (610) 922-4030.