Media, marketing and technology firm, Brave Bison, has acquired Social Chain, a social media and influencer marketing agency founded by Dragons’ Den entrepreneur Steven Bartlett, for a sum in excess of $20m (£16.6m), subject to the firm’s performance over the next three years.

The deal brings together two teams, whose complementary skills will allow them to further embrace client complexity in order to deliver sustainable growth for clients. Brave Bison will preserve the Social Chain brand, and Social Chain CEO, Pete Metcalfe, will join the Brave Bison leadership team, overseeing both Social Chain and the current Brave Bison Social & Influencer team. 

The make-up of Social Chain and Brave Bison’s respective teams is similarly young and digitally native – approximately half of Social Chain’s people are 27 and under, as are over a quarter at Brave Bison – and there will be more opportunity for career development within the combined company.

Brave Bison has a hybrid offering. It owns and manages social media channels to generate advertising revenue and provides digital advertising and technology services for global, blue-chip companies such as Panasonic, New Balance, Currys and Pfizer. Social Chain will augment this further and enhance the client offering. Social Chain’s clients include Amazon, TikTok, Arla, KFC and Apple Beats.

“We’ve long admired Social Chain, which we believe is among the world’s best regarded social media and influencer marketing brands, and we’re excited by the highly relevant clients it brings into our business,” said Brave Bison Chairman, Oliver Green. “Social Chain has huge potential for growth within Brave Bison, taking the momentum Pete and the team have built up using Steven Bartlett’s platform. We’re delighted to be taking this big step forward as we continue to build a media, marketing and technology company for the new era”.

Social Chain CEO, Pete Metcalfe, said that joining with Brave Bison is a great move for the company. “This will only help to enhance our plans to grow the Social Chain proposition and build on our continued success,” he said. “We are excited to work closely with like-minded people that align with our culture. It not only gives us the opportunity to build combined services for clients, we also have the chance to benefit from the clear momentum behind the Brave Bison business.”