National CineMedia, Inc. to Acquire Captivate for $275 Million
The acquisition is an important step in NCM’s growth strategy and will help expand its premium video and digital OOH advertising platform.
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National CineMedia, Inc. (“NCM”), the largest cinema advertising platform in the US, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Captivate Holdings, LLC (“Captivate”), the operator of digital video elevator and lobby advertising in North America, for an enterprise value of $275.0 million, subject to customary closing conditions.
This transformative acquisition will combine NCM’s leadership in cinema advertising with Captivate’s office and residential footprint, creating the premium video and digital out-of-home advertising platform with more than 48,000 digital screens across theatres, office buildings and residential properties in 185 Designated Market Areas (DMAs), including all of the top 100.
NCM is purchasing Captivate from Generation Partners, a growth equity firm which acquired Captivate in 2013.
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“This acquisition marks a n important milestone in NCM’s evolution and represents a key next step in our strategy to build a market-defining premium video and digital out-of-home advertising platform,” said Tom Lesinski, Chief Executive Officer of NCM.
“Captivate is an excellent platform that strategically complements and expands our core expertise in connecting advertisers with highly sought-after audiences in premium, high-attention video-enabled environments. Captivate’s team has built an attractive network over nearly three decades, growing revenue approximately 40% and Adjusted EBITDA by more than 50% over the past two years.”
“We believe the combination will further strengthen NCM’s financial profile while creating a unique solution that delivers differentiated reach and value for advertisers. Together, NCM and Captivate are a force multiplier, reaching the audiences advertisers value most where they work, live, and play.”
Leigh Lowery, Chief Revenue Officer of Captivate, said, “Captivate has built a uniquely powerful network, bringing together premium locations, highly desirable audiences, and a growing base of advertisers alongside enduring brand and property partnerships.”
“We look forward to working alongside the NCM team to extend that network to a significantly broader set of advertisers and provide brands with greater access to premium audiences across multiple high-attention environments.”
The combination of the NCM and Captivate networks will bring together three complementary premium audiences coveted by advertisers: NCM’s young, diverse moviegoing audience and Captivate’s affluent professional audience in both Class A office buildings and residential properties.
Together, the combined platform will provide advertisers with a single premium media partner capable of reaching consumers and business decision makers in high-attention environments.
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Captivate’s workplace network also provides incremental access to business-to-business marketing budgets, enhancing the overall platform’s appeal to enterprise technology, financial services and professional services advertisers.
At the same time, NCM’s national cinema network provides Captivate advertisers with greater access to consumer audiences that over-index for attention at scale.
The transaction is expected to strengthen NCM’s ability to deliver premium audiences in video-enabled, high-attention environments.
By bringing Captivate’s purpose-built digital out-of-home technology platform in-house, NCM will be able to operate and scale its existing movie theatre lobby network more efficiently. Additionally, the combination of the two networks will create a larger pool of premium digital out-of-home national, local, and programmatic inventory across cinema, office and residential environments accessible through a single platform.
The acquisition is also expected to enhance NCM’s data, targeting, and measurement capabilities.
Transaction Highlights
- Creates the premium video and digital out-of-home advertising platform – expands the combined company to more than 48,000 screens across theatres, Class A office buildings, and residential properties in 185 DMAs, including all of the top 100
- Diversifies NCM’s revenue base and strengthens financial profile – adds a growing, asset-light business with long-term building agreements, deep advertiser relationships, minimal capital requirements, strong free cash flow, and accretive margins
- Broadens reach across complementary audiences – unites NCM’s young, diverse cinema audience with Captivate’s affluent professional audience in Class A office buildings, reaching both consumers and decision makers through a single partner
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- Expands advertiser appeal and unlocks growth opportunities – ability to deploy NCM’s national and local sales organisation across Captivate’s network, with new cross-selling offerings across both networks
- Enhances technology and programmatic capabilities – opportunity to accelerate NCM’s programmatic initiatives by bringing Captivate’s proprietary technology platform and established supply-side partner relationships in-house
Financial Summary
- Purchase price represents an enterprise value of $275.0 million, reflecting approximately 10x Captivate’s pro forma EBITDA
- The transaction will be funded with $275.0 million of new committed term debt, with available cash used to refinance the company’s existing revolving credit facility and fund transaction and financing expenses
- Inclusive of the transaction, incurrence of the new term debt, expected synergies, and savings from NCM’s operational transformation initiative, NCM expects net leverage at close to be approximately 3.9x
- Expect to generate more than $3.5 million of annual run-rate cost synergies within year one post-close, with additional commercial upside from cross-selling and applying NCM’s local go-to-market capability across the combined platform
- Captivate has grown revenue by approximately 40% and Adjusted EBITDA by more than 50% over the past two years, generating approximately $64 million of revenue and approximately $19 million of Adjusted EBITDA in 2025
- Captivate requires minimal ongoing capital investment, enabling profitable network growth
- Combined company expected to benefit from attractive free cash flow generation and meaningful operating leverage
