Top 40 firm HALO Branded Solutions (asi/356000) has acquired Taylor, MI-based distributor Chamberlain Marketing Group (asi/160501) in a deal announced Friday morning. Financial terms of the transaction were not released.

HALO CEO Marc Simon

Jerry Chamberlain, founder and CEO of Chamberlain Marketing, is retiring. He said he was searching for the right partner to take the company he founded into the future – and HALO was it. “HALO will allow us to offer more services to help our customers grow their brand,” Chamberlain said. “The Chamberlain team is excited about this new chapter.”

Based in Sterling, IL, HALO will maintain Chamberlain Marketing’s office in Taylor, MI. HALO told Counselor that Rob Ross will lead CMG, with Mark Ziskind, president of CSE Powered by HALO, helping Chamberlain Marketing integrate with HALO. Ross had most recently been CMG’s vice president of operations. “Chamberlain Marketing Powered by HALO” is the name with which the acquired company will go to market.

“Jerry Chamberlain and his team have built a strong and growing business, and we appreciate their trust in HALO’s resources to continue their growth by enhancing their client offering,” said HALO CEO Marc Simon. “Our goal is to leverage the best practices of HALO and Chamberlain Marketing for the benefit of the valued clients of both organizations.”

Speaking to Counselor, Terry McGuire, HALO’s senior vice president of marketing and supply chain, said that HALO is especially excited about CMG’s excellence in corporate programs, as well as their strong service offerings to certain industries, like the automotive sector. “Our financial and operational resources will support and enhance their ability to scale their business in these focused markets,” McGuire told Counselor.

Terry McGuire, Senior VP of Marketing and Supply Chain, HALO Branded Solutions.

HALO has been active in making acquisitions of late. Last month, for example, HALO acquired fellow Top 40 distributor Sunrise Identity (asi/339206). “We’ve had great success with recent additions of distributors that serve concentrated client bases with some of the world’s most recognized brands,” said McGuire, whose firm also announced the acquisition of Top 40 distributor CSE earlier this year.

More acquisitions could be on the horizon. “We’ve established a solid track record of rewarding business owners for the hard work they have put into building their business when it is time to sell, and have proven they can trust HALO to honor the commitments we make and to continue to grow their business post-acquisition,” McGuire told Counselor. “We’re hopeful this track record continues to draw those owners into meaningful conversations with us.”

With reported North American promotional products revenue of $416.4 million, HALO ranked third on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest distributors in the industry. While HALO wasn’t prepared to share an exact number, executives told Counselor that 2018’s revenue tally should far exceed last year’s total. “We’re having one of the strongest years in memory, and while the acquisitions we have made have contributed to our year-over-year growth, the key driver appears to be the strongest organic growth we have seen in more than a decade,” McGuire told Counselor.