Last month, Svoboda Capital Partners invested in creative agency Highdive. In October, Keystone Capital invested in Barkley, which then merged with OKRP. In September, the London and New York-based independent agency Brainlabs nabbed funding from another private equity firm, Falfurrias Capital Partners.

Despite the high-profile deals, it was a slow year for private equity investment in the combined media and marketing sectors, according to the M&A advisory firm Ciesco.