authors Staff Reports
Downtown Nashville-based market research firm 20|20 Research has been acquired by Schlesinger Group, a market research company based in Iselin, New Jersey. Terms of the deal were not disclosed in a release.
The acquisition will position Schlesinger “to better meet the growing need for remotely collected qualitative research,” the release notes, adding that COVID-19 social distancing guidelines have effectively halted in-person focus groups.
The deal also includes the use of 20|20’s in-person focus group facilities in Charlotte, Nashville and Miami. Isaac Rogers, 20|20 CEO, will assume the role of chief innovation officer of the combined company.
“This is digital’s moment to take hold of the industry,” Rogers (pictured) said in the release. “COVID-19 isn’t going to change the future; it’s going to accelerate how fast the future gets here. Our role is to prepare for a future that will come faster than we originally thought.”
Southlake, Texas-based private equity firm Gauge Capital is the parent of Schlesinger. Tennessee-based Oaklyn Consulting provided investment banking services to 20|20 related to the transaction.
Jim Bryson founded 20|20 Research in 1986, ending his 33-year tenure with the company last month. Now deputy commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Parks and Recreation, Bryson was the 2006 Republican nominee for governor of Tennessee, losing to then-incumbent Democrat Phil Bredesen.
