A Deal Built on Alignment: How WPTG Brought Two Bulgarian Digital Agencies Into Its Global Family
White Pearl Technology Group’s acquisition of CreateX and Native Digital marks not just a milestone for two Bulgarian founders, but a landmark moment for AI-driven M&A across Europe.
When Alexander Ivanov, founder of Bulgarian digital performance agency CreateX, and his partner Nikolay Nikolov of Native Digital began exploring their options, they were not simply looking for an exit. They were looking for the right partner — one with the scale, the vision, and the genuine commitment to take their businesses to the next level. They found that in White Pearl Technology Group.
WPTG, the NASDAQ First North-listed Swedish technology group operating across more than 30 countries with a portfolio of 28 companies, has completed the acquisition of both CreateX and Native Digital in a deal structured at approximately 6× EBITDA — a strong valuation for a digital marketing agency in Central and Eastern Europe by any measure.
Europe’s first AI-led M&A transaction
What makes this deal particularly significant is how it came together. The transaction was facilitated by Eilla AI, a Bulgarian startup that has built an AI-powered advisory platform capable of screening nine million companies to identify the most suitable acquisition candidates. What would traditionally take weeks of analyst work was compressed into a matter of days — from first outreach to a signed offer in just 15 days, a pace previously unthinkable in cross-border M&A.
Bloomberg TV Bulgaria, Kapital, and BusinessNovinite all covered the story as a genuine first: the first AI-led merger and acquisition transaction completed in Europe. For a deal of this nature to originate and close in Bulgaria is a statement about the maturity of the country’s digital economy — and about the quality of the businesses WPTG has added to its group.
What CreateX and Native Digital bring to the group
CreateX is a performance marketing and digital creative agency founded in Sofia in 2017, with revenue growing close to 60% year-on-year to reach approximately 2 million BGN in 2024. The agency has built a reputation for measurable results and operational efficiency, having embedded AI tools across its core business processes well ahead of the broader market.
Native Digital, Bulgaria’s first TikTok-focused agency, has delivered more than 80 million views for clients in under a year, establishing itself as the leading voice in short-form video and youth audience engagement in the region. Together, the two agencies bring WPTG a meaningful foothold in the high-growth digital marketing sector across Southeast and Central Eastern Europe.
Growth through partnership, not just ownership
The terms of the deal reflect WPTG’s philosophy around acquisition: structured earnouts tied to performance through 2028 mean the founders remain invested in the outcome. Partial consideration in WPTG shares creates shared skin in the game. And crucially, neither founder optimised for the highest bid — they chose WPTG because of cultural alignment and the platform it offers for international expansion into the broader Eastern European market.
This is consistent with how WPTG approaches growth. With 750+ experts across 30+ countries and deep expertise in digital transformation, ICT, cybersecurity, and AI, the group offers its acquired businesses access to a global client network, operational scale, and cross-sell opportunities that would be impossible to build independently.
The CreateX and Native Digital acquisition is the latest chapter in WPTG’s continued expansion — and a signal that the group’s model of finding operationally excellent businesses and giving them the platform to scale internationally is working, now with AI accelerating the process itself.
M&ABulgariaDigital MarketingEilla AICreateXNative DigitalNASDAQ First NorthWPTG Group News