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Kantar Group announces the proposed sale of Kantar Media

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LONDON, Jan. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ –Kantar Group, a leading, global market research company based in London and portfolio company of Bain Capital, has announced today the proposed sale of Kantar Media to H.I.G. Capital, a leading global alternative investment firm with $67 billion of capital under management. 

The contemplated deal will mark a new chapter for Kantar Media as it embarks on an exciting phase of growth and innovation, with a renewed focus on delivering cutting-edge insights to clients across the content and advertising landscapes.

The proposed acquisition by H.I.G. Capital, a firm known for its hands-on approach and successful track record of accelerating business growth, comes at a pivotal moment for Kantar Media. The company, which operates in over 60 markets, is uniquely positioned to shape the measurement ecosystem with a broad portfolio of solutions that spans audience measurement and data analytics as well as media planning and validation.

Kantar Media CEO, Patrick Béhar will continue to lead the business. “Over a year ago, I joined Kantar Media from Sky to accelerate the transformation of Kantar Media into an agile, technology-centric company, shaping the measurement industry through advanced cross-media solutions. This transaction would give us the resources and support to further accelerate our growth trajectory and strengthen our position as the global leader in media measurement and analytics. With H.I.G.’s expertise in scaling businesses and driving performance, we are more confident than ever in our ability to deliver innovative, data-driven solutions that meet the evolving needs of our growing client base all over the globe. Today is a fantastic moment for Kantar Media, its teams, its partners and its customers as we embark with H.I.G onto the next stage of our transformation”.

“We are excited to partner with Patrick and his talented team,” said Nishant Nayyar, Managing Director at H.I.G Capital. “Kantar Media has a long-standing reputation for delivering essential data and trusted insights to the global media industry. We are confident that as an independent business under the leadership of Patrick, the company will continue to thrive and lead the way in media measurement and analytics innovation”.

Chris Jansen, Kantar’s Chief Executive, added, “We set up Kantar Media to be operationally independent in 2023, to allow it to consolidate its global leadership position in audience measurement. Today’s proposed partnership announcement with H.I.G. Capital positions Kantar Media to continue its investments in technological and geographical leadership and we wish Patrick and his team the very best for the future. Following the proposed sale, Kantar will be even more focused on helping both global and local brands to grow through a unique combination of IP, data assets, and increasing the rapid deployment of AI. Kantar remains the world’s leading data and marketing analytics company.”

The transaction’s purchase price of approximately $1 billion is anticipated to be primarily paid in cash, along with certain non-cash consideration, including separation-related investments by H.I.G. Capital, and an earn-out.

Subject to customary legal and regulatory requirements and completion of information and consultation processes with employee representatives where necessary, the proposed transaction is expected to close later this year.

J.P. Morgan and Jefferies acted as financial advisors to Kantar Group on the contemplated transaction.

Morgan Stanley & Co International acted as lead financial advisor and ING acted as financial advisor to H.I.G. Capital on the contemplated transaction. 

About Kantar Media
Kantar Media is a global leader in media measurement and analytics, providing clients with comprehensive insights into audience behaviour, advertising effectiveness, and media consumption patterns. With a deep understanding of the global media landscape, Kantar Media offers data-driven solutions that help brands, agencies and media owners optimize their marketing strategies and drive measurable results.

About H.I.G. Capital
H.I.G. is a leading global alternative investment firm with $67 billion of capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco in the United States, as well as international affiliate offices in Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogotá, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Dubai, and Hong Kong, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to middle market companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/value-added approach. Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 400 companies worldwide. The Firm’s current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of $53 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at hig.com.
*Based on total capital raised by H.I.G. Capital and affiliates.

About Kantar
Kantar is the world’s leading marketing data and analytics business and an indispensable brand partner to the world’s top companies. We combine the most meaningful attitudinal and behavioural data with deep expertise and advanced analytics to uncover how people think and act. We help clients understand what has happened and why and how to shape the marketing strategies that shape their future. 

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SOURCE Kantar Group

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TacticalPay Launches New GunBroker Payment Gateway for FFLs, Powered by NMI

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TacticalPay now offers FFLs a GunBroker payment gateway built for the firearms industry, that also seamlessly integrates with WordPress, WooCommerce and an extensive catalog of shopping carts and platforms.

HOUSTON, Oct. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — TacticalPay LLC, a payments and point-of-sale provider for the firearms industry, today announced the TacticalPay Gateway, the company’s own payment gateway for FFLs and firearms businesses. Powered by NMI®, a global leader in embedded payments infrastructure, the TacticalPay Gateway is available now to new and existing TacticalPay merchants.

With TacticalPay POS, TacticalPay Tap and now the TacticalPay Gateway, an FFL can run the counter, the phone, the website and their GunBroker store all on one payments platform, with one support line.

Built for the Firearms Industry

Online sales are a growing share of revenue for gun stores, ranges and firearms retailers, but not every payment provider welcomes them. Some gateways and payment platforms restrict firearms sales outright, and others leave FFLs piecing together a gateway, a processor and a shopping cart from different vendors. The TacticalPay Gateway helps bring those pieces together under one name, on a firearm-friendly merchant account. Onboarding and support are handled by TacticalPay’s in-house team, based in Texas.

Powering Online Sales for FFLs

The TacticalPay Gateway powers e-commerce transactions for FFLs and firearms businesses. It can connect to a merchant’s own website, take phone orders through a virtual terminal, and serve as a payment gateway for GunBroker sales. Integrations with Shopify and more than 125 other shopping carts and platforms are available and easy to set up, along with card-on-file storage, electronic invoicing, recurring billing, 3-D Secure and fraud screening.

Powered by NMI

The TacticalPay Gateway runs on the NMI payment platform, which powers more than $700 billion in annual payment volume and more than 6.5 billion transactions a year for over 1.2 million merchants. The NMI platform lets partners deliver a fully branded payment experience to their own customers. For FFLs, that means a gateway with the scale and reliability of one of the industry’s largest platforms, under a name that understands their business.

“Firearms businesses deserve the same payment technology that every other industry takes for granted, and too often they haven’t had it,” said Rich McIver, Co-Founder & CEO of TacticalPay. “With TacticalPay POS, TacticalPay Tap and now the TacticalPay Gateway, an FFL can run the counter, the phone, the website and their GunBroker store all on one payments platform, with one support line.”

The TacticalPay Gateway is included in TacticalPay’s E-commerce plan and is also available with its retail plans. TacticalPay is exhibiting at SHOT Show 2027 in Las Vegas, January 19–22, and will demonstrate the gateway at Booth 42850.

About TacticalPay

TacticalPay LLC is a payments and point-of-sale provider for firearms businesses, in business since 2015. It offers firearms merchant accounts and credit card processing for gun stores, plus TacticalPay POS, TacticalPay Tap and the TacticalPay Gateway. TacticalPay holds a Better Business Bureau A+ rating and is a regular exhibitor at SHOT Show, the firearms industry’s trade show produced by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). Visit https://www.tacticalpay.com/ to learn more.

About the NMI payment platform

NMI is powering the next generation of embedded payments with its modular, white-label payments platform and industry-leading gateway. Processing over $700 billion annually, NMI enables SaaS platforms, ISOs, PayFacs and banks to accept, manage, price and move money, turning payments into a strategic advantage, driving growth, loyalty and new revenue streams. More than 6,000 technology partners trust NMI to deliver seamless, scalable payment experiences across online, in-app, in-store, mobile and unattended environments. Learn more at nmi.com.

Media Contact

Andy Hagans, TacticalPay LLC, 1 (888) 281-5830, sales@tacticalpay.com, https://www.tacticalpay.com/

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SOURCE TacticalPay LLC

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Why Singles Over 50 Fear Connecting Online More Than Being Alone

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LOS ANGELES, Oct. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Building new connections later in life can feel daunting, especially for those who haven’t met someone they’re genuinely interested in for years. After a long time away from meeting new people, some may feel unsure about where to start, whether meaningful connections are still possible, or how to navigate concerns about online safety and the risk of scams.

For DateMyAge, a platform designed for mature singles, understanding these emotional and practical barriers to building relationships online is key to helping people connect with greater confidence. To explore these challenges, DateMyAge surveyed adults over 50 about their experiences, concerns, and attitudes toward forming new connections online.

Key Findings

57% can’t say they’ve met someone new they were genuinely interested in within the past decade.33% have wanted to try building connections online but stopped themselves from signing up.52% don’t know whether their children would approve of them building connections online.15% believe their children would think they are too old to pursue online connections.8% worry their children would see it as disrespectful to their other parent.11% haven’t asked their children or someone younger to set up a profile but would welcome their help.72% say being scammed online scares them more than spending the rest of their lives alone.47% cite fear of being scammed as their biggest barrier to signing up.32% identify privacy concerns as their biggest obstacle to building connections online.

Many Haven’t Met Someone New In Years

More than a third of respondents say it has been over 10 years since they last met someone new they were genuinely interested in, while a further 21% say they honestly can’t remember the last time it happened.

The findings show that many older adults have gone years without experiencing a meaningful romantic connection.

While interest in companionship remains, the path back into meeting new people can feel unfamiliar after long periods away from the relationship world.

Family Support Could Help Singles Over 50 Take The First Step

For singles over 50 who are unsure how to begin building relationships online, adult children could be an important source of support. Yet many aren’t sure how their families would react: 52% don’t know whether their children would approve, while 25% believe their children would be happy for them. Just 15% expect their children to think they’re too old to build relationships online.

Some would welcome practical help, too. While 4% have already asked their children or someone younger to set up a profile for them, another 11% would love that assistance.

The holidays, when families come together, could offer an opportunity to bridge that gap. Helping a parent create a profile, explaining how a platform works, or simply encouraging them to meet new people could make the process feel more approachable. For some, the first step towards a new connection may begin with a conversation at home.

Fear Of Scams Is Bigger Than Fear Of Being Alone

The survey’s most striking finding is that 72% of respondents say being scammed online scares them more than spending the rest of their life alone.

While loneliness is often assumed to be the biggest concern facing singles later in life, the findings point to trust and safety as even greater priorities.

For many older adults, the fear isn’t finding someone online — it’s not knowing whether that person is who they claim to be.

Privacy Concerns Continue To Hold People Back

Nearly one-third of respondents say privacy concerns are the biggest thing stopping them from signing up to meet people online.

Many older adults have spent decades building their personal and financial security. Sharing personal information online can feel like a significant risk, particularly when meeting strangers through digital platforms.

“There are many people who may still have the desire for socialization even in their advanced age, but because of worries about fraud, the prospect of making this first move becomes a challenge. What’s important here is to treat the process of forming relationships online with the same prudence and time investment as any other new relationship.”

— Jaime Bronstein, LCSW, Relationship Expert at DateMyAge

Conclusion

For singles over 50, building new relationships can mean overcoming several hurdles, from concerns about scams to uncertainty about family reactions and the challenge of getting started after years away from meeting new people.

With the right support and a little encouragement, taking that first step can feel more achievable. Sometimes, a new connection begins with something as simple as creating a profile, asking for help, or giving yourself permission to meet someone new.

Methodology

DateMyAge surveyed 1,000 adults over 50 to explore attitudes and behaviors surrounding online relationships, trust, and connection later in life.

pr@sdgroup.ai

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SOURCE DateMyAge

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The Biological Computing Co. Launches World’s First Publicly Available Neuron-Derived AI Video Model

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TBC mischief 1 generates video 5x faster than its base model and is the lowest-priced image-to-video model on two leading AI marketplaces

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Biological Computing Co. (TBC), an applied biological computing company that uses living neurons to improve AI models, today launched TBC mischief 1, an AI video model that generates video 5x faster than its base model. Available on fal and OpenRouter, mischief 1 is the lowest-priced image-to-video model on both marketplaces, enabling video creators and developers to experiment with more ideas, faster and for less.

The launch marks a major step in bringing discoveries from living neurons into commercial AI. mischief 1 is faster and cheaper because of efficiencies TBC discovered in living neurons and applied directly to the model. Just five weeks after announcing its collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to bring the model to enterprise customers, TBC is extending access to creators and developers through fal and OpenRouter.

Built for how creators actually work

At half a cent per second, a five-second clip costs 2.5 cents, and 100 clips cost $2.50. Creators can test more ideas, compare takes and refine their work within the same budget. For developers, lower generation costs make it easier to build video into products that people can afford to use repeatedly.

Wonder Studios, an AI-native creative studio, tested mischief 1 in its own production workflow.

“Great storytelling comes from refining an idea until it’s right, and that’s usually the crunch point for time and budget. mischief 1’s speed and cost-effectiveness meant we could push the work much further within the same time and more cost effectively,” said Justin Hackney, co-founder of Wonder Studios. “That kind of efficiency gives creatives more time for the craft and lets them stay in the flow of an idea. As this approach reaches more advanced models, it could reshape how films and commercials are made, with faster, more efficient generation that finally keeps pace with imagination.”

A new source of AI efficiency

Built on Wan 2.2, a widely used open-weight video model, mischief 1 matches its quality while generating video 5x faster and at a fraction of the cost.

“We said we would take discoveries from living neurons all the way to a product anyone can use, and we did it faster than anyone expected,” said Alex Ksendzovsky, CEO and co-founder of TBC. “Behind this model is a discovery platform that keeps learning. Every experiment adds to our understanding of how neurons compute and gives us new opportunities to improve AI. Video is our first commercial application. We’re already working to bring those discoveries to language and physical AI, with the goal of building more capable models without simply adding more compute.”

TBC’s discovery platform grows living neurons in the lab, measures how they process information and identifies computational principles that can improve AI. Those discoveries become proprietary software that makes existing models more efficient. The neurons stay in the lab. Customers use software that runs on standard AI hardware and adds less than 0.1% to the base model’s parameter count.

TBC is already applying its discovery process to newer open-weight video models, with early results showing greater efficiency gains. Additional applications in language models and physical AI are in development.

“Our first model shows what happens when we learn from biology instead of relying on conventional inference optimization alone,” said Jon Pomeraniec, co-founder and COO of TBC. “mischief 1 is our first commercial proof point. The larger opportunity is to apply these discoveries across models and workloads. We’re building a platform that can change the economics of AI at scale.”

Most efficiency gains in AI today come from a shared set of industry techniques, such as quantization, distillation and caching. TBC’s optimizations come from a different source: direct measurements of living neurons. They are derived from biology, not just inspired by it, which makes them hard to replicate.

Availability

TBC mischief 1 is live on fal at https://fal.ai/models/TBC/mischief-1/image-to-video and OpenRouter at https://openrouter.ai/tbc/mischief-1 starting October 30 to mark Mischief Night. Learn more at tbc.co.

About The Biological Computing Co. (TBC)

The Biological Computing Co (TBC) is an applied biological computing company that uses living neurons to improve AI models. TBC makes intelligence radically more efficient by learning from biology. Discoveries in living neurons improve AI models that run on the silicon customers already use. Customers get better AI without changing their infrastructure. Headquartered in San Francisco, TBC is a fast-growing team of neuroscientists, biologists, AI researchers and engineers redefining how the world computes.

Media Contact:

tbc@hoffman.com

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SOURCE The Biological Computing Co.

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