EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE: EPAM), a leading provider of complex software engineering solutions and a leader in Central and Eastern European IT service delivery, today announced it has acquired Empathy Lab, a digital strategy and multi-channel experience design firm and a portfolio company of ALC.
JEGI CLARITY (www.jegiclarity.com) of New York, NY, the leading independent investment bank for the media, information, marketing, and technology sectors, represented ALC and Empathy Lab in this transaction and acted as its exclusive financial advisor.
Founded in 2005 by management, and with growth capital and strategic and operational support from ALC, Empathy Lab is a recognized leader in both e-commerce and digital media and entertainment. Empathy Lab most recently launched Horizon Online for Liberty Global, one of the most advanced multi-device TV-Everywhere applications. Empathy Lab has also recently helped re-launch www.RedCross.org, transforming their digital experience using best-of-breed retail strategies and technologies, thereby helping to advance the Red Cross mission by mobilizing the power of their volunteers and the generosity of donors through the digital medium. Empathy Lab’s other clients include AIG, Sentara Health Systems, CHUBB, NBC Universal, TJX, DirecTV, PepBoys, Avon, Philosophy, Comcast and many other leading brands.
Arkadiy Dobkin, CEO and President of EPAM, said, “We are excited about the acquisition of Empathy Lab, which complements our strong capabilities in global delivery of software engineering services with the proven expertise in two important growth areas – development and execution of enterprise-wide commerce initiatives and transformation of media consumption and distribution channels. In addition to strengthening our travel and consumer and business information and media verticals, Empathy Lab brings significant expertise in digital marketing strategy consulting and program management.”
“Empathy Lab matches our investment criteria for strategic fit, accretion and manageable execution risk. As part of our ongoing growth strategy, we will continue to evaluate opportunities to deepen our industry expertise and technology capabilities necessary to deliver complex mission-critical solutions,” continued Mr. Dobkin.
Empathy Lab’s CEO, Kevin Labick, said, “We believe Empathy Lab’s strategy and experience design services, along with our deep understanding of enterprise e-commerce and video platforms, paired with EPAM’s world-class engineering solutions, uniquely positions us to drive unparalleled ROI for Fortune 500 organizations world-wide.”
ALC’s CEO, Donn Rappaport, said, “We are extremely happy with EPAM’s acquisition of Empathy Lab. The goal of our initial investment in Empathy was to forge a bridge between data-driven marketing and digital experience design. We did that, and in the process were able to offer a world class digital capability to ALC clients, as well as leading-edge data marketing expertise to Empathy’s clients. Our investment produced both extraordinary economic and strategic returns. And we are confident that the combination of Empathy Lab and EPAM will produce even greater value to all three organizations and our respective clients in the future.”