MediaLink gets acquired by Cannes Lions operator Ascential

Michael Kassan’s media and advertising consultancy MediaLink is getting acquired by Ascential, the operator of the Cannes Lions ad festival, the two firms said Tuesday.Kassan, a former IPG ad agency boss who branched into consulting in 2010, will sell his...

MediaLink gets acquired by Cannes Lions operator Ascential

Michael Kassan’s media and advertising consultancy MediaLink is getting acquired by Ascential, the operator of the Cannes Lions ad festival, the two firms said Tuesday.

Kassan, a former IPG ad agency boss who branched into consulting in 2010, will sell his firm for more than $200 million upon reaching certain earn-out targets, the companies said.

The initial cash consideration in the deal totals $69 million.

MediaLink organizes professional meet-and-greets and parties at events as diverse as Cannes Lions, CES and Sundance, and advises on all things from marketing pitches to digital media.

Clients have included AT&T, Microsoft, Fox and Comcast.

“We’ll still be independent, but we’ll be part of the Ascential family,” Kassan, who is chairman and CEO, told The Post. He added: “The last business card I ever own will read MediaLink.”

Kassan worked closely with long time partner Wenda Harris Millard, a former Yahoo exec, to steadily build the firm over the past seven years.

MediaLink is jokingly referred to as the “mafia” because of how widespread the firm’s tentacles are. Kassan was once dubbed “the mobilizer.”

Ascential is a publicly traded UK firm which, in addition to Cannes Lions, owns fashion-trend forecaster WSGN, Money 20/20 and trade media publisher EMAP.

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