SHELTON, Conn., May 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- SSI takes a
major step forward in Australia
and New Zealand by entering into a
definitive agreement to purchase the assets of two leading panel
companies —MyOpinions Ltd. in Australia and SmileCity Ltd. in New Zealand. The planned acquisition
combines these large, high quality panels with SSI's existing
online panel assets to create the richest, most robust online panel
in each country.
For market researchers, this means SSI will soon offer broader
reach and better feasibility than ever before for conducting B2C
and B2B research in Australia and
New Zealand. Together with
its expert programming and hosting capabilities, SSI will become
the clear choice for marketers and researchers looking for a
one-stop survey research partner.
The acquisition will strengthen SSI's leadership position as a
global data solutions and technology company, and will align well
with an overall company strategy to invest in the Asia Pacific region. SSI's expanded
presence in Australia and
New Zealand combines
industry-leading technology, proven online panelist recruitment
techniques and a singular focus on quality to enable the best
access to consumers and professionals available.
"Clients will greatly benefit from the size, quality and
productivity of our leading panels, and SSI's unique ability to
manage large ANZ B2C and/or B2B trackers," said SSI President and
CEO Chris Fanning. "We've been
focused on further strengthening our leadership position in
Asia Pacific and the acquisition
of these two well-managed companies is an excellent fit with our
strategy."
The MyOpinions Panel has been built over the past 14 years and
sets the benchmark for quality online research for a large number
of leading research agencies and corporate clients in Australia and overseas.
"SSI is a very well-respected global data and market research
technology company that places a premium on respondent experience
and delivers high quality product and service to clients," said
Bob Cheng, Founder and Managing
Director of PermissionCorp, the parent company of MyOpinions and
SmileCity. "We are pleased to see our businesses join the SSI
network because we know SSI will take great care of the panel
assets and team we've built. SSI is committed to continuing
our philosophy of delivering value to our clients."
SmileCity Ltd., established in 2003, is an online rewards
program exclusively for New Zealanders.
Both MyOpinions Ltd. and SmileCity Ltd. are owned by parent
company PermissionCorp.
The majority owner of SSI is HGGC, a leading middle-market
private equity firm.
About PermissionCorp Pty Ltd.
PermissionCorp was founded in July
1999 in Sydney, Australia.
Since then the company has grown to become a major force in
the online marketing arena, offering permission email marketing,
online research, and online shopping loyalty programs and services.
Today, PermissionCorp has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland and Taiwan and has a team of more than 70
full-time staff. PermissionCorp has a network of Websites
with a total reach exceeding 3.5 million and with page impressions
in excess of 30 million per month. Clients include major
Australian brands and corporations. For more information on
PermissionCorp, please visit www.permissioncorp.com.
About SSI
SSI is the premier global provider of data solutions and
technology for consumer and business-to-business survey research,
reaching respondents in 100+ countries via Internet, telephone,
mobile/wireless and mixed-access offerings. SSI staff
operates from 30 offices in 21 countries, offering sample, data
collection, CATI, questionnaire design consultation, programming
and hosting, online custom reporting and data processing.
SSI's 3,600 employees serve more than 2,500 clients
worldwide. Visit SSI at www.surveysampling.com.
About HGGC
HGGC is a leading middle-market private equity firm with over
$2.4 billion in cumulative capital
commitments. Based in Palo Alto,
Calif., HGGC is distinguished by its "Advantaged Investing"
model that enables the firm to source and acquire scalable
businesses at attractive multiples through partnerships with
management teams, founders and sponsors who reinvest in deals
alongside HGGC, creating a strong alignment of interests. Over its
history, HGGC has completed platform investments, add-on
acquisitions, recapitalizations and liquidity events with an
aggregate transaction value of more than $10
billion, representing more than 45 transactions. More
information is available at www.hggc.com.
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SOURCE SSI