ACG's 2022 Annual Report

IMPACT INFLUENCE & GROWTH

“ACG has persevered through uncertain times and has not only expanded and become more relevant, but also exceeded all revenue and growth targets for FY22. We have brought more innovative products and services to our members and the middle-market dealmaking community we serve, and are driving the connections that manifest deals. We are back and better

- Tom Bohn President & CEO

As the pandemic has faded and business has gone back to normal, ACG has roared back and is bigger and better than ever. The greatest example of this is our flagship event. InterGrowth 2022 exceeded all expectations with record-breaking attendance and the largest sponsorship commitment in ACG history. ACG plans to capitalize on this momentum as we head into 2023 with the next evolution of InterGrowth, DealMAX. DealMAX will replace InterGrowth as the premier dealmaking event for the middle market and expand on previous successes, highlighting many of ACG’s innovative products and services, but most importantly, driving more meaningful connections for our community.

The resurgence was not limited to events alone. Membership has rebounded to above pre-pandemic levels, and the media group has surged ahead launching two new magazine titles and targeted content franchises for operating partners, business development professionals, strategic acquirers and more.

ACG media ultimately reaches more than 120,000 middle-market professionals.

Five more chapters have joined OneACG, the most ambitious and innovative project ACG has ever undertaken, bringing the total to 14 chapters and two networks that represent 38% of ACG’s total membership under the unified ACG umbrella.

In addition to growing existing offerings, ACG also executed its first acquisition in 2022—subscription data platform GF Data. This further diversifies the organization’s revenue and brings an incredibly valuable resource into the ACG universe for the 3,600 PE professionals that represent $760 billion in dry powder that we serve.

The growth achieved in this uncertain year has been unprecedented and has set the organization up for a bright and lucrative future for both its members and the broader middle-market community it serves.

Key Achievements:

54%

page view growth on middlemarketgrowth.org

PE, investment banking and corporate development pros highlighted in the inaugural M&A Business Development Professionals to Watch list

GrowthTV studio launched at InterGrowth 2022

new print brands launched: Middle Market DealMaker and Middle Market Executive 65

PE Today posts featured on middlemarketgrowth.org highlighting recent deals

Driving the M&A Conversation

ACG’s media group has grown to be the largest middle-market dealmaking-focused publisher in the country. With more than 126,000 professionals in our community, we have expanded offerings to support every member of the dealmaking and value creation process, including two new print editions—Middle Market DealMaker and Middle Market Executive.

The Mission Continues

• Denver

• New Jersey

• New York

• San Francisco

magazine editions featured “Backstage,” a new Q&A feature based on a live roundtable discussion hosted by ACG sponsors

Our video channel, GrowthTV, continues to expand, launching our first in-person studio at InterGrowth 2022. We have also launched a new franchise, our Business Development Professionals to Watch list, which honors individuals in the critical deal generation roles at private equity firms, investment banks and in the corporate world.

ACG continues to forge ahead with one of its boldest objectives, OneACG. In following our mission to best serve our members and support our dynamic chapters, we have focused on chapter integration and growth that has resulted in greater alignment and better member experiences across ACG. Overall, we have merged 14 chapters and two networks, representing about 38% of overall membership, or about 5,300 dealmakers. In FY22, we merged five chapters from across the country. In total, we’ve merged the following chapters and networks:

• Silicon Valley

• Atlanta

• Birmingham Network

• Boston

• Charlotte

• Dallas/Fort Worth

• Los Angeles

• Maryland

• National Capital

• Piedmont Triad Network

• St. Louis

• Raleigh/Durham

Bolder, Better

Never before in the nearly 50-year history of InterGrowth has the conference exceeded expectations quite like this one. Despite the COVID pandemic still lingering, InterGrowth proved it remains the premier dealmaking event for the middle market. It drew record crowds and smashed our attendance forecasts. About half of the total attendees reported that it was their first time attending, including 238 private equity investors and 187 investment bankers. Also, surveys showed that attendees made nearly 10 meaningful connections with at least three deals sourced per person.

build upon our record-breaking success and bring to life our bigger and bolder vision for our flagship event. With an inspiring name that centers on the deal, we are expanding a valuecreating ecosystem for the many different audiences that attend our conference. We are meeting our members where they are, creating greater connectivity.

new peer-to-peer bolton forums at DealMAX— strategic acquirers and operating partners

To ensure we build on the event’s momentum, for 2022 we have introduced InterGrowth’s next evolution, DealMAX. This daring new brand is designed to

In addition to our largest event’s reimagining, we have also attracted senior-level investment bankers and private equity investors back into the ACG community with our new and exclusive, invitation-only DealMaker Invitational Golf Outing Series. Launched in February 2022, the inaugural DealMaker Invitational event sold out, and was so successful that we are scheduling three more events in 2023.

year

senior dealmakers attended the sold-out inaugural DealMaker Invitational earlier this

DealMaker Invitationals scheduled in 2023

We have built on ACG’s new look and expanded our ongoing communications and campaigns for membership onboarding, recruitment and reactivation. Membership increased by an average of 205 members per month, and more than 4,300 individuals joined ACG for the first time since September 2021.

Also, we have created, implemented and streamlined a marketing process to support everything from large-scale/targeted promotions for national events to virtual summits/webinars, chapter-driven campaigns and sponsorship promotions.

served since Sept 2021

Sponsorship Success

Despite the long hiatus of an in-person InterGrowth, sponsorships were in high demand and exceeded expectations, reaching 117% of the goal. In fact, InterGrowth sponsorships this year far outpaced 2019 by nearly $1 million.

But InterGrowth wasn’t the only success story. We forged new partnerships, representing a 250% increase in revenue and access to exclusive and valuable services for our members.

Partnership programs also drove revenue for chapters, totaling 5x more revenue generated than in previous years.

Sponsorship in media maintained its pace, and GF Data has begun to offer several new sponsorship opportunities since coming into the ACG portfolio, setting the organization up for major growth in the coming year.

New Beginning

ACG took another bold step in 2022 that aligns squarely with our mission of driving middle-market growth—acquiring GF Data. GF Data offers key data insights and reliable valuation data on private equity-sponsored middle-market transactions. GF’s quarterly reports help subscribers accurately value and assess middle-market businesses.

Since the acquisition, subscriptions have skyrocketed, making it a record-breaking year for the company. In just a few months, GF Data launched a quarterly article in Middle Market Growth magazine, rebranded all GF Data products and redesigned its website.

ACG’s global Board of Directors is made up of dedicated volunteers from across the dealmaking community. We have worked tirelessly with ACG’s professional staff throughout the pandemic and beyond to better define ACG’s mission and better serve our members.

We are pleased to report we are making progress. ACG achieved record revenue, record membership growth and integrated many of our chapters through OneACG. ACG also hosted the largest InterGrowth ever.

Going forward, DealMAX will be an annual celebration of mid-market dealmaking. Early sign-ups for DealMAX 2023 are very strong and we will smash 2022 attendance records, bringing in even more first-time attendees and even higher percentages of private equity professionals and investment bankers.

In 2022, ACG also acquired GF Data, the premier resource for anonymized deal statistics for the lower middle market. With this acquisition and numerous other initiatives, ACG’s Board of Directors and executive leadership team led by Tom Bohn continue our focus on providing valuable products and services for the ACG community.

Our members join ACG for a variety of reasons, so we will continue to create bespoke programs for our many constituents, such as exclusive meet ups and media products for operating partners and strategic acquirers, and the DealMaker Invitational for senior-level executives.

We remain committed to improving the careers of our ACG members and promoting connectivity throughout the mid-market dealmaking community.

BOARD MEMBERS

- David Gershman

Chairman of the Board, PartnerandGeneralCounsel,TrivestPartners

David Gershman ChairmanoftheBoard, Partner and General Counsel,TrivestPartners

Steve Castino Chairman of Finance,Shareholder Vestal & Wiler

Brent Baxter Past Chairman of the Board,ManagingDirector Nolan and Associates

David Hellier Member Council Chair,Partner BertramCapital

Christina Bui Co-Founder, ManagingPartner KylanVentures

David Acharya ManagingPartner AcharyaCapital Partners,LLC

Ann Cox Senior Private Banker in the WealthManagementIndustry

Christine Nowaczyk ChairElect, Senior Vice President BOK Financial

Suzie Doran Partner SingerLewak,LLP

Tony Banks Director, Grant Thornton Aaron Polack Head of Business Development LionEquityPartners

Kevin Prunty SeniorManaging Director,Headof PrivateDebt&Equity Investments,RGA

Dan Ryan ManagingDirector MidOcean Partners

John Surrette Partner KLR

ACG BOARD OF DIRECTORS

DIRECTORS AT LARGE