Publicis Groupe Benelux (Belgium) has acquired social and digital production agency Boomerang, which works with shared client Heineken. The acquisition will see Amsterdam-based Boomerang support the offer of the Le Pub agency through its services of creativity, social and digital production while continuing to operate under its own name. Chief executive of Publicis Benelux Jacco…
It’s been a funny century for the marketing and communications industry: the rise of holding groups, consolidation, startups, digital disruption, even a pandemic, the effects of which we cannot yet even begin to analyze let alone understand. In the tumultuous 20 years so far, many names have come and gone. Once-mighty agencies have been subsumed…
Ever since Maximum Effort Marketing launched in 2018, the agency has helped fuel the growth of co-founder Ryan Reynolds’ investments–such as Aviation Gin, which he sold to Diageo in 2020 for more than $600 million. This week, the agency itself became an acquisition target, with performance TV platform MNTN adding Maximum Effort Marketing as its…
Digital marketing agency Croud is set to go on a merger and acquisitions (M&A) hunt with the appointment of Amit Khanna, an investment professional and corporate lawyer, to lead the expansion plan. The 10-year-old business, led by co-founder and chief executive Luke Smith, received a minority investment of $42 million (30 million pounds) in November…
It could be a lyric from an Alanis Morissette song, depending how you define ironic these days. If office supply retailer Staples succeeds in its latest $1-billion bid to buy rival Office Depot’s consumer business, it may well be a merger that came a few years too late. “The space has been crushed by Walmart…
Accenture Interactive acquired the Kuala Lumpur- and Singapore-based agency Entropia to expand its offering in experience-led services. The acquisition of the five-year-old agency, which employs more than 210 people, develops branded digital experiences to meet the growth of Southeast Asia’s digital economy, explained Divyesh Vithlani, Southeast Asia market unit lead for Accenture, in a statement….
Today, Songtradr announced its recent acquisition of global sonic branding giant MassiveMusic. This marks the B2B licensing company’s sixth acquisition since 2019, having previously acquired licensing agency Big Sync Music, Song Zu, Cuesongs, Tunefind and music streaming service Pretzel. While details regarding the financial particulars have not been released, MassiveMusic founder and CEO Hans Brouwer…
Grey London is to fully acquire and integrate social media agency Wildfire on June 1, forming Grey Social, which will offer social insights, creative and content production. The Wildfire management team will join Grey London, with Ivan Palmer as director of social development and innovation; Olivia Clarkson as director of connected culture; Asad Shaykh as…
The merger deal between agency networks MDC and Stagwell looks uncertain due to MDC’s largest shareholder, Indaba Capital Management. The long-running merger could be in jeopardy after Indaba, which owns 15% of the shares of MDC, lodged an official protest stating that it felt the terms of the merger favored Stagwell. The letter of protest…
Add James Bond to the never-ending list of things owned by Amazon. The tech giant acquired the Hollywood studio MGM Holdings for almost $9 billion in a deal announced Wednesday morning. The Wall Street Journal first broke the news of an imminent deal on Monday. Amazon was previously reported in talks to acquire the studio,…
What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago, following mass store closures across the U.S. during the pandemic, most of the chatter around retail was about who was filing–or likely to file–for bankruptcy. Soon thereafter, the acquisition of bankrupt U.S. retailers abounded, from the purchase of apparel retailer Brooks Brothers by Authentic Brands Group…
It’s been over five years in the making for Paul Ward as he takes on his new role as global chief executive of Havas Studios, a new production service from the advertising holding company formed in partnership with creative production agency Wellcom Worldwide. But the year-long pandemic has sharpened his view even more on the…
Authentic Brands Group is adding Eddie Bauer, one of the best-known outdoor gear retailers, to its portfolio of brands. “Eddie Bauer has a 100-year history of unparalleled authority in the outdoor space,” said Jamie Salter, founder and CEO of ABG, in a statement. “The global outdoor market opportunity has grown exponentially over the last year,…
The merger between MDC and Stagwell is moving ahead, but still requires some patience, shareholders at a Q1 earnings update call learned today. The deal is expected to be completed in the coming months. Last December, MDC, the group network behind Doner, 72&Sunny and Anomaly, announced an agreement to merge with Stagwell Group, which owns…
S4 Capital announced it will merge with Brazilian digital performance agency Raccoon Group and reported like-for-like revenue growth of 35% to $169.3 million in the first quarter, while gross profit rose 33% to $144.4 million. The merger will see MightyHive, the London-based group’s digital media business, link up with Raccoon to expand its data and…
The French media conglomerate will sell half its Activision Blizzard stake, worth about $866 million, in its latest move to reduce debt and focus on its media properties.
Few industries have been as embroiled in merger mania as telecommunications. Now, with another mega-deal in the works, will there be even more consolidation among others?
Under the terms of the $48.5 billion deal, AT&T will pay about $95 a share in stock and cash as it looks to gain leverage in negotiations over its video offerings.
AT&T is poised to announce a takeover, people briefed on the matter said on Saturday, ushering in another transformation of the telecommunications industry.
When the $35 billion merger of Publicis and Omnicom was announced, it served as a showcase for the rise of boutique investment banks like Moelis & Company. Now, the deal will cost Moelis in more ways than one.
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