A new M&A deal signals that “business-to-business” could be the next hot growth area in the creator economy.
The social and influencer marketing company Billion Dollar Boy Group exclusively told CMO Insider that it acquired the B2B influencer marketing agency Creator Authority. Creator Authority connects brands with content creators, providing services that include contracts, licensing, and campaign management.
The companies declined to disclose the specific financial terms, beyond that it is an all-cash, “multimillion-dollar” deal with an earnout component. Following the acquisition, BDB Group said it forecasts its 2027 revenue will exceed $100 million. BDB Group said its global revenue has grown 24% in the past 12 months.
The deal started with a LinkedIn DM.
In 2023, BDB Group cofounders Edward East and Thomas Walters were lapping up Brendan Gahan’s content on LinkedIn about how B2B creators were finding success on the platform. Gahan hadn’t yet launched Creator Authority, but was increasingly becoming a B2B influencer himself. East got in touch to arrange an intro call, and they kept in touch for regular catch-ups before the conversation evolved into takeover talks.
Courtesy of Ed East
“I’m so excited about the B2B space,” Gahan, who will take the role of senior vice president of B2B at Billion Dollar Boy, told me. “It feels like YouTube in 2010; there’s this moment when it just explodes, and I’m excited to grow with it.”
The creator economy gets a B2B infusion
Dealmaking in the creator economy has been accelerating.
There were 70 creator economy M&A transactions in the first half of 2026, according to the advisory firm Quartermast Advisors. That was up 23% year-over-year, making it the busiest first half of creator deals on record, with agencies accounting for around a fifth (21.4%) of transactions, per Quartermast, which advised Creator Authority on the sale.
Notable recent deals include Accenture Song’s acquisition of the creator and social agency Whalar in July, Publicis Groupe picking up the French creator agency Point d’Orgue in August, and the influencer and social agency SAMY’s purchase of Atlanta-based social and digital agency Get Engaged last month.
BDB Group’s acquisition of Creator Authority — its first-ever acquisition — marks a new phase of consolidation as agencies that made their names in the consumer space seek to capitalize on the growth of B2B creator marketing.
In a survey commissioned by BDB Group and conducted by Censuswide in September of more than 1,000 marketing decision-makers in the US and UK, 20% said they invested in B2B creator marketing in 2026. Architecture, engineering, and building (33%), manufacturing and utilities (24%), and retail, catering, and leisure (23%) were the industries where B2B creator marketing investment was most prevalent.
On the platform side, LinkedIn has been making big investments in the influencer marketing space. This summer, it introduced a creator marketplace to help advertisers identify creators relevant to their sectors and desired audiences. It’s enhanced its BrandLink program that lets publishers and creators receive a share of the revenue generated by ads placed in their videos. Last year, it launched a slate of original video shows from business-focused creators.
East told me the Creator Authority team will increase from around 15 people currently to around 30 to 40. BDB Group plans to shift some of its existing staff to work with the Creator Authority team. That will expand Creator Authority’s global presence to New York and London from its current bases of Los Angeles and Austin.
BDB Group will benefit from Creator Authority’s status as an official LinkedIn Marketing Partner and inherit a client roster that includes Amazon, Adobe, and Mastercard.
“Creator marketing is an emerging channel for B2B brands, and it’s one of the most significant growth opportunities in this space, without a shadow of a doubt,” East said.
