Research companies Fiftyfive5 and GalKal merge
Independent research companies Fiftyfive5 and GalKal have merged, creating what they claim is Australia’s largest “independent consumer insights company” following an investment by private equity firm Mercury Capital.
Fiftyfive5’s Darren Kemp, Karen Phillips and Mark Sundquist along with GalKal’s Brent Wallace
The announcement:
Merger makes sense. Funny to to see that old chestnut “optimal leverage” gets a run, but hope it’s not a portent of a cliched, cookie cutter future for clients now that there’s VC cash behind it all, baying for blood money.
This doesn’t read too well. Customised market research is a dying horse if you don’t own any data assets to “leverage”.
Look for both cultures to be overrun by the ruthless VC culture. It’s a business after all and these two entities won’t look the same in 18 months.
RIP