ST. LOUIS, Jan. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — WILsquare Capital, a St. Louis-based private equity firm, announced today that its portfolio company, OuterBox, LLC (“OuterBox”), has acquired GRO Marketing, LLC (“GRO”), a full-service digital performance marketing agency specialized in serving multifamily, student housing and senior living community clients. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The acquisition strengthens OuterBox’s position as one of the leading independent performance marketing agencies, adding deep domain expertise and established credibility in serving residential community property management companies and ownership groups. Like OuterBox, GRO consistently earns high levels of client satisfaction and loyalty through its comprehensive offering, white-glove approach and ability to generate measurable improvements in marketing outcomes.
“GRO’s specialized knowledge and history of driving incremental results for clients make this a highly strategic addition to the OuterBox platform,” said Jeff Allen, CEO of OuterBox. “The strong cultural alignment between OuterBox and GRO underscores the compelling opportunities this combination creates for clients, employees and long-term growth.”
“The acquisition of GRO extends OuterBox’s strategy of aligning with best-in-class agencies to enhance industry coverage and performance capabilities,” added Andrew Scharf, Managing Director at WILsquare Capital. “We are pleased to support OuterBox’s expansion into the residential community vertical, a highly attractive market segment with stable and growing demand drivers for marketing services.”
“Partnering with OuterBox marks an exciting next chapter for GRO and our clients,” said Matt Pavlick, Founder and CEO of GRO, who joins OuterBox as an investor and Senior Advisor. “At GRO, we have always prided ourselves on making sure we deliver on our promises. Joining OuterBox empowers us to unlock new levels of growth and performance that we can deliver to those we serve.”
GRO is WILsquare Capital’s fifth acquisition within its digital marketing platform, following the acquisitions of OuterBox in 2022, Trinity Insight in 2023, TopSpot in 2024 and Accelerated Digital Media in 2025.
About OuterBox
Founded in 2004, OuterBox is a full-service performance marketing agency serving over 1,200 clients nationwide. The company drives measurable growth for clients through its core offerings of search / generative engine optimization (SEO / GEO), paid media, CRO / UX, website design and development, email marketing, AI services, and advanced analytics. OuterBox was recently recognized as the Best Large Integrated Search Agency at the 2025 US Search Awards.
About WILsquare Capital
WILsquare Capital is a St. Louis-based private equity firm focused on acquiring and growing lower-middle market businesses in the Midwest and Southern United States, with an emphasis on business services, niche manufacturing, distribution, and technology companies.
Contact:
Sean Hixson
[email protected]
314-283-0341
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wilsquare-capital-expands-digital-marketing-platform-with-acquisition-of-gro-marketing-302668165.html
SOURCE WILsquare Capital
