acquired by
Metal Injection has been acquired by The Orchard, a division of Sony Music Entertainment.
Sell-side advisor: Songbird Group M&A
Referral partners earn up to $50,000 for a qualified introduction.* How referrals work
For M&A industry and sales professionals: Co by SongbirdSell
Strategic M&A and growth specialists. Exits from $1M to $100M.
M&A and growth for membership, community and media businesses.
We build sales campaigns to sell your business to the strategic acquirer that values it the most. Or we work with you to grow your revenues first for a maximized future exit.
Digital membershipsPeer networksSocial clubsMembers-only clubsEventsE-learningP2P marketplacesPublishersNewslettersPodcastsYouTube
Start a conversation with us
Continue confidentiallyAll communications are kept confidential. We will send our NDA before proceeding into sensitive data talks. Prefer email? contact@songbird.group
M&A firm built out of 23 years of lead generation and sales.
Brands we’ve sold to or negotiated terms with
We understand “community asset” and “audience asset” businesses, like yours.
Your community (members, event attendees) and audience (subscribers, reach) has an asset value most M&A firms and agents aren’t experienced in understanding. Yet it’s no different than inventory or real estate being part of a deal. At Songbird Group, we’re industry specialists and know how to position this asset to increase the value of your exit.
Connections and community asset businesses
- Digital memberships
- Peer networks
- Social clubs
- Members-only clubs
- Events
- Curated rooms
- E-learning memberships
- P2P marketplaces
Audience asset businesses
- Content publishers
- Newsletters
- Podcasts
- YouTube channels
- Magazines
- Other media
We represent exits from $1M to $100M. Average deal size ranges are $1.5M–$4M.
Two ways we win together.
Sell now, or grow first for a future maximized exit.
Are you ready to pursue a full or majority exit to a strategic acquirer now? Or do you want to engage our growth services first to build more value into your eventual exit?
Strategic M&A
For full or majority exits.
If you’re ready to pursue an exit in the next 1 to 6 months. We data-identify the strategic acquirers who value your business most, then run a tier-1 sales campaign to a close.
- Buyer research and a strategic acquirer shortlist
- Your sales narrative and deal book
- Direct outreach to decision-makers, never a public listing
- Negotiation and diligence support through closing
SBGrowth agency services
To build toward a maximized future exit.
Our agency works with you on a fee plus revenue-sharing model, growing your numbers now so the business sells for more when you’re ready.
- Launch or grow a paid membership
- Build a newsletter into an asset and a revenue line
- Events, sponsorship and community revenue
- Strategic brand and channel partnerships
Looking for a confident valuation instead? See the valuation package
Premium art sells through an art dealer. Your business deserves the same.
Your premium business deserves more than a listing on a marketplace or an email to a general buyers list. That’s how brokers and M&A professionals work. List and wait.
You could list premium art on Amazon and reach many buyers browsing for something low-cost for their wall. The business buyer market is the same. 99 out of 100 are just looking for anything that is a good deal — we sell your business to the metaphorical art collectors.
It’s how larger investment banks work, except they only take on clients at $100M+. We close this gap for the $1M–$100M market.
General market buyers
Marketplaces and buyer lists reach everyone, so your business is priced like everything else on the list.
Data-identified strategic acquirers
A short list of acquirers who gain far more from owning your business than its earnings alone. That gap is where the premium comes from.
Specialists in your business model, not your topic.
“Do you and your team know our niche?” Our most commonly asked question. And it’s the right thinking: work with a specialist, but the emphasis is on the wrong specialization.
When selling a restaurant, you’d certainly want a restaurant exit veteran. But she or he need not be expert in Italian cuisine or sushi.
What you teach, what your market and members converge about, what your published content focuses on is your product; Our product is the business model.
We’ve sold in 30+ markets
Markets we’ve sold in
- Animation, VFX
- Cryptocurrency
- Language learning
- Child care, ECE
- Gaming
- Motorsports
- Music
- Tech media
- Gluten-free
- Wellness and spa
- Pre-kindergarten
- Fintech
- Sports
- Food and Wine
Sales campaigns, not listings.
Many brokers and M&A firms list or announce a business, then wait. They post to marketplaces, email their buyer lists and reply to whoever responds. We know first-hand, we partner with and train many of them via our industry membership: Co.
We build demand. We use data to identify the most likely acquirers, then lean on 20+ years of lead generation to reach the decision makers, including CEOs of billion dollar brands. We’ve had calls or negotiated terms directly with CEOs of Spotify (Daniel Ek), Sennheiser (Daniel Sennheiser), Pearson (John Fallon), former CEO of Future Plc (Zillah Byng-Thorne) – and executive deal teams at Pixar, Warner Bros, public companies Embracer, Sony… the roster is long across 30+ markets we’ve worked in.
We train and partner with the industry.
Our M&A industry collective launched Q2 and now our expanded sales training brand expands on the 1:1 work we’ve done with brokers, M&A and sales professionals. Your campaigns benefit from the expanded referral partners network.
Co by SongbirdSell
Collective and coaching for deals and sales professionals.
Smaller brand. Bigger focus on you.
We can’t give you the brand name of a global investment bank. But they rarely take on clients under $100M, and they hire the same juniors we train in Co.
They can’t compete with our speed or our close rate. A lean team means senior, hands-on support on every call. We see that as a win for you.
$100M+Typical minimum deal size at global investment banks
$1MWhere our campaigns start, with a senior team on every call
Selected deals.
acquired by
acquired by
Bloop Animation has been acquired by Magic Media, an animation and VFX agency.
Sell-side advisor: Songbird Group M&A
acquired by
CampAddict has been acquired by Schwalm, owner of RV Water Filter Store.
Sell-side advisor: Songbird Group M&A
Businesses we sold to strategic acquirers for valuations above market rates.
Partial list.
- Sold DualShockers to GRV Media, as we identified that they were active in gaming.
- Sold Metal Injection to Sony’s subsidiary The Orchard, as we saw that they had just acquired a metal music label.
- Sold CampAddict, an RV how-to content site to Schwalm as they had just made an acquisition of an RV camp site and already owned an RV water filtration brand.
- Sold Bloop Animation, an e-learning site for animators, as we identified an HR/Recruitment angle for Magic Media Studios, a portfolio of 9 VFX and animation agencies.
- Sold OnMSFT, a Microsoft tech media to the parent company of Windows Report, Reflector Media as we identified an opportunity for their team to own more of the market share.
- Sold Belabumbum, maternity wear and content site to AdoreMe when we dug up data that they were pursuing an IPO. (They instead used the acquisition as one of their roll-ups and were later themselves acquired by Victoria’s Secret.)
- Sold Make A Living Writing, a freelancer writer centric digital membership to JARA Publishing as we knew they had other new properties in the education sector.
Growth services (officially launched as a stand-alone service October 2026).
- Built a 65,000-subscriber newsletter and a new revenue stream for Bloop Animation before its exit.
- Ran sales outreach for English Forums that landed a multi-five-figure deal with Grammarly.
- Worked with a cryptocurrency media in their shift away from Google dependence towards newsletters. They now have multiple newsletters and launching more and less than 40% of their traffic comes from Google.
A small senior team, and partners in Co.
Rob TothBudapest, Hungary
Ryan KaufmanOregon, USA
Gordana NiketicSerbia
Emilija DjukicSerbia
Co partners
Fabio FarinaMontreal, Canada
Marty FahnckeKansas City, USA
Chelsea ClarkeVancouver, Canada
Khaled BaranboToronto, Canada
Our team and Sellers and Buyers have been spread from Oregon and California to Texas and New York, through Canada, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Hungary, Serbia, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia…
Start a conversation with us.
Tell us a little about the business. Everything stays confidential, and we share our NDA before any sensitive detail.
- Fill out the formTwo minutes, contact details only.
- NDAWe send our NDA before sensitive data talks.
- Meet-and-greet call and discoveryWe learn the business, the numbers and your goals.
“I can’t imagine navigating this process without your expertise… you made a stressful transition almost relaxing at times.”
Brittany Highland, COO, Knektion (Austinot)“Rob treats clients almost like business partners… giving exact action steps that he personally would take if it were his own money on the line.”
Mike M., marketing industry publication seller“Just completed an acquisition via Rob, and can’t say enough great things about him. There are only a handful of people like him out there.”
Farukh S., buyer“You and your team did a great job and delivered on all your promises, and quickly.”
Morr Meroz, Founder, Bloop Animation Studios
Prefer email? contact@songbird.group
In the press.
FeatureGoogle Traffic Down. 7 Solutions From 11 Years of Selling Media CompaniesWhat’s New in Publishing
InterviewHow OODIENCE Uses Demand Generation for Maximized ExitsFlip My Site
PodcastThe Loneliness Economy, with Rob TothKid Carson Show
Deal newsAdore Me eyes sales bump with Belabumbum acquisitionRetail Dive
Founder, Rob Toth’s comments
Songbirds, as a metaphor.
There are many species of songbirds but they still represent a sub-set of all birds. They command wider range vocal cords which allows them to better communicate or attract a mate.
Songbirds are the ones with more refined communication and sales skills that then help land the better “mates” (buyers, deals).
SBG (Songbird Group)’s spine and backstory stems from lead generation, marketing and sales, not just a brokerage course. Further, I’ve sat in your chair, I built and exited my own events company, Canada Marketing Summit.
I never wanted to sell businesses. I mean, I didn’t want to just sell “any” business.
I launched this company in 2015 because I saw that audience and community-rich businesses were being valued on financial performance only. Meanwhile, brands were hunting for premium media to acquire. I saw a match-making opportunity.
If now’s not the right time to take a next step for you, I hope you’ll at least connect with me through LinkedIn or via my personal newsletter, Toth House.