As first reported in a Counselor Breaking News Alert on Wednesday, Top 40 distributor HALO Branded Solutions (asi/356000) has acquired fellow Top 40 distributor Caliendo Savio Enterprises (CSE; asi/155807). CSE will maintain its offices in New Berlin, WI, and will go to market as “CSE Powered by HALO.” Financial terms of the deal were kept private.

Marc Simon, CEO of Sterling, IL-based HALO, said CSE is a great fit for HALO. “CSE has developed considerable expertise in executing corporate fulfillment and uniform program solutions for a blue-chip roster of major corporations,” Simon said. “Our goal is to leverage the best practices of both HALO and CSE for the benefit of the valued clients of both organizations.”

Tom Savio, the founder and president of CSE, said that HALO has the unique ability to support CSE’s creative capabilities and client-focused culture while providing the resources necessary for sales expansion in a dynamically evolving marketplace. Simon elaborated to Counselor that HALO’s deeper resources and scale will allow for more robust technology solutions, product safety expertise, and recognition and sourcing opportunities for the CSE client base. “We are excited,” said Savio, “for the growth opportunities our HALO relationship will provide to our clients and the hardworking and creative team at CSE.”

Simon told Counselor that Savio plans to stay involved for the long-term and help HALO transition the business to CSE’s leadership team. The HALO CEO added that the standing ovation Savio received from employees upon the acquisition announcement this week was a testament to the founder’s success as a businessman and beloved leader. “Tom Savio has built a tremendous organization that is deeply loyal to him,” Simon told Counselor. “We appreciate his trust in our stewardship.”

According to Simon, the entire CSE management team is joining HALO. “Only four positions needed to be made redundant, and that was solely because we are obligated to manage all cash functions at our corporate headquarters,” Simon told Counselor.

Over the last year, HALO has been busy on the acquisition front. In the autumn, HALO announced the acquisition of American Pacific Promotions, a California-based distributor. In February of 2017, HALO announced the acquisitions of creative merchandise agency Catalyst Marketing Inc. and recognition/incentives firm Michael C. Fina Recognition, the latter of which has since been rebranded to HALO Recognition. Simon told Counselor that HALO is open to additional acquisition opportunities.

While HALO wasn’t yet prepared to share its or CSE’s 2017 sales numbers, both companies have driven ample revenue growth in recent years. HALO ranked 5^th on Counselor’s latest list of the largest distributors in the industry with reported 2016 North American promotional product revenue of $282.3 million. The company has posted an impressive 51% five-year growth rate, Counselor reported last July. CSE ranks 31^st on the same list, with reported 2016 promotional product revenue of $55.6 million and a five-year growth rate of 64%.