SSI Announces Agreement to Acquire Assets of MyOpinions Ltd. in Australia And SmileCity Ltd. in New Zealand

SHELTON, Connecticut, May 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- SSI takes a major step forward in Australia and New Zealand by entering into a definitive agreement to purchase the assets of two leading panel companies —MyOpinions Ltd. in Australia and SmileCity Ltd. in New Zealand.  The planned acquisition combines these large, high quality panels with SSI's existing online panel assets to create the richest, most robust online panel in each country.

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For market researchers, this means SSI will soon offer broader reach and better feasibility than ever before for conducting B2C and B2B research in Australia and New Zealand.  Together with its expert programming and hosting capabilities, SSI will become the clear choice for marketers and researchers looking for a one-stop survey research partner.  

The acquisition will strengthen SSI's leadership position as a global data solutions and technology company, and will align well with an overall company strategy to invest in the Asia Pacific region.  SSI's expanded presence in Australia and New Zealand combines industry-leading technology, proven online panelist recruitment techniques and a singular focus on quality to enable the best access to consumers and professionals available.

"Clients will greatly benefit from the size, quality and productivity of our leading panels, and SSI's unique ability to manage large ANZ B2C and/or B2B trackers," said SSI President and CEO Chris Fanning.  "We've been focused on further strengthening our leadership position in Asia Pacific and the acquisition of these two well-managed companies is an excellent fit with our strategy."

The MyOpinions Panel has been built over the past 14 years and sets the benchmark for quality online research for a large number of leading research agencies and corporate clients in Australia and overseas.

"SSI is a very well-respected global data and market research technology company that places a premium on respondent experience and delivers high quality product and service to clients," said Bob Cheng, Founder and Managing Director of PermissionCorp, the parent company of MyOpinions and SmileCity.  "We are pleased to see our businesses join the SSI network because we know SSI will take great care of the panel assets and team we've built.  SSI is committed to continuing our philosophy of delivering value to our clients." 

SmileCity Ltd., established in 2003, is an online rewards program exclusively for New Zealanders.

Both MyOpinions Ltd. and SmileCity Ltd. are owned by parent company PermissionCorp. 

The majority owner of SSI is HGGC, a leading middle-market private equity firm.

About PermissionCorp Pty Ltd.

PermissionCorp was founded in July 1999 in Sydney, Australia.  Since then the company has grown to become a major force in the online marketing arena, offering permission email marketing, online research, and online shopping loyalty programs and services.  Today, PermissionCorp has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland and Taiwan and has a team of more than 70 full-time staff.  PermissionCorp has a network of Websites with a total reach exceeding 3.5 million and with page impressions in excess of 30 million per month.  Clients include major Australian brands and corporations.  For more information on PermissionCorp, please visit www.permissioncorp.com.

About SSI

SSI is the premier global provider of data solutions and technology for consumer and business-to-business survey research, reaching respondents in 100+ countries via Internet, telephone, mobile/wireless and mixed-access offerings.  SSI staff operates from 30 offices in 21 countries, offering sample, data collection, CATI, questionnaire design consultation, programming and hosting, online custom reporting and data processing.  SSI's 3,600 employees serve more than 2,500 clients worldwide.  Visit SSI at www.surveysampling.com.

About HGGC

HGGC is a leading middle-market private equity firm with over $2.4 billion in cumulative capital commitments. Based in Palo Alto, Calif., HGGC is distinguished by its "Advantaged Investing" model that enables the firm to source and acquire scalable businesses at attractive multiples through partnerships with management teams, founders and sponsors who reinvest in deals alongside HGGC, creating a strong alignment of interests. Over its history, HGGC has completed platform investments, add-on acquisitions, recapitalizations and liquidity events with an aggregate transaction value of more than $10 billion, representing more than 45 transactions.  More information is available at www.hggc.com.