Ketchum Directory Advertising Inc. (KDA) has announced the acquisition of select assets of TMP Directional Marketing (TMP), as well as the closing of a senior secured credit facility with Wells Fargo Capital Finance. FocalPoint Securities served as KDA’s exclusive financial advisor on both transactions.

New York-based TMP was a local-search agency. It operated across 11 offices across the U.S. and Canada and worked with large corporate brands including Farmers Insurance Group of Companies, Public Storage, Overhead Door Corporation, Children International and Sunrise Senior Living.

TMP was required by its lenders to seek buyers for its assets due to an anticipated lack of operating capital as a result of a prolonged recessionary environment. Through a transaction structured by FocalPoint and financed by Wells Fargo, KDA acquired certain assets of TMP including its Milwaukee and portions of its St. Louis offices.

KDA is now the leader of local marketing strategy and the nation’s second largest Certified Marketing Representative led by a management team with over 40 years of experience. The company has a national network of offices in Kansas City, Louisville, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, St. Louis and Pittsburgh and operates with more than 300,000 distributor, agent, franchise and corporate locations internationally. KDA’s clients include blue chip companies such as BMW, ExxonMobil, Jaguar, Petco, Pizza Hut and Sony.

Antony Barran, chief marketing officer of KDA said, “Rajesh and his team at FocalPoint continue to serve as key and critical advisors to our executive management team. Their understanding of our industry and keen capital markets intelligence has resulted in two very successful transactions for KDA and we view them as an integral part of our team as we execute on our growth plan.”

Rajesh Sood, managing director at FocalPoint, commented, “KDA has created a very impressive local directory platform via opportunistic acquisitions, and now has the financing in place to further its growth. FocalPoint strives to form long-term relationships with clients where we can work proactively with management to create value for their shareholders.”

FocalPoint is an independent investment bank with offices in Los Angeles and Chicago, specializing in mergers and acquisitions, private placements (both debt and equity), and financial restructurings/workouts.