Case study · Investment Banking · Ecosystem expansion
Two acquisitions to a complete decentralized engagement ecosystem.
At a glance
The mandate
Cleo.xyz — the engagement platform behind Zenko Protocol — engaged the firm to expand from token-powered engagement into a full-stack decentralized ecosystem: a virtual world to host experiences and a media layer to broadcast them.
The transactions
GDA led the acquisition of Pavia.io, the first metaverse platform on the Cardano blockchain, bringing virtual land and experience venues into the group (2024). The firm then led the acquisition of the assets and intellectual property of Script Network (script.tv), the watch-to-earn live television and decentralized broadcasting protocol (2025), announced with the firm's partners named in the release.
The outcome
Three platforms, one thesis: Zenko's engagement rewards, Pavia's virtual world, and Script's broadcast layer combine into a decentralized engagement ecosystem — audiences earn across all three surfaces. The mandate demonstrates the firm's core buy-side product for platform companies: acquiring capabilities as a sequence, not a wish list.
The same method, on the firm's own balance sheet
Cleo is the client-side proof of a product GDA also runs for itself. The Flashy Group roll-up applied the identical discipline over six GDA-led transactions — sequence chosen so each acquisition lowered the cost of the next, and a shared ledger, identity spine, and distribution surface decided before the second close. The programme record is published on this site, and the capability is set out in the firm's technology roll-up advisory guide.
Ecosystems are acquired in sequence: the world first, then the broadcast layer — each deal priced by what the last one unlocked.
Outcome
GDA-led acquisitions
Platforms in the ecosystem
Years, mandate to completion
Where this leads
Cleo.xyz acquires Pavia.io — the transaction
The first acquisition in the sequence: the Cardano metaverse platform, GDA-led (2024).
Cleo.xyz acquires Script Network — the transaction
The second: the watch-to-earn broadcast layer, GDA-led (2025).
Technology roll-up advisory — the capability
The buy-side product this mandate demonstrates: capabilities acquired in the order that compounds them.
The Flashy Group roll-up — the programme record
The same method run on the firm's own balance sheet: six GDA-led transactions, one ledger.
How does a technology roll-up create value?
The short answer, and the test that separates a roll-up from a holding company.
What is virtual real estate?
The category Pavia.io operates in.
What is watch-to-earn?
The model Script Network built, defined.