Publicis Groupe acquires Beijing-based Dreams

May 12, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Publicis Groupe has acquired Dreams Communication, a Chinese agency which serves the healthcare and consumer industries.

Dreams will become part of Publicis Healthcare Communications Group (PHCG) and will be renamed Publicis Life Brands Dreams. The acquisition extends the PHCG China footprint and marks the network’s second acquisition in the Asia Pacific region this year, following Watermelon in India in March.

Founded in 2003, Dreams employs nearly 50 people and offers advertising and design, digital, medical education, and event planning services to mainly pharmaceutical and healthcare clients. Its clients include Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Xian-Janssen, Beijing FH Land, and the Ministry of Culture of China.

Bin (Simon) Sun will remain at the helm of Dreams and take the title of Managing Director, Publicis Life Brands Dreams, along with Kathy Zhao, who will become General Manager, Publicis Life Brands Dreams.

Nick Colucci, CEO and President of PHCG, said, “Adding Dreams to the PHCG portfolio further advances our key strategy to enhance our presence in emerging markets. We are especially excited to have expanded our offering in China-a market we see with tremendous potential for healthcare communications.” Bin (Simon) Sun, Managing Director of Publicis Life Brands Dreams, added, “I am pleased that Dreams will become part of the Publicis Healthcare Communications Group. This is an important step in our growth strategy. Working alongside PHCG agencies allows us to benefit from the global expertise of the leading healthcare communications network and will allow us to become a leading healthcare agency in China.”

France, Paris & China, Beijing

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Bertelsmann acquires digital media agency Smashing Ideas for Random House

May 10, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Bertelsmann AG has acquired digital media agency Smashing Ideas for its Random House division, the world’s largest English-language trade book publisher. The purchase was announced today by Markus Dohle, , and Stephen Jackson, President and CEO of Smashing Ideas, Inc. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The acquisition adds significantly to the set of Random House capabilities and further signals the intention of Random House and its parent company to be leaders in digital content creation, and demonstrates their commitment to expanding revenues from mobile and interactive online products and services.

Smashing Ideas will continue to operate independently out of their Seattle headquarters, as well as their U.K. office, primarily focusing on its current and future client businesses.

Last September, Random House, Inc. established a partnership with Smashing Ideas to develop first-rate mobile applications for selected titles. The first two apps, developed with the Random House Children’s Books division, Wild About Books and Pat the Bunny, both climbed to #1 in the books category in the Apple App store.

“Bertelsmann, Random House, and Smashing Ideas are a great fit creatively and culturally, as our recently begun partnership has demonstrated to us. We are driven to create value for authors, brands, and clients, and the opportunity to do so together, through broad-based digital development of innovative and interactive engagement with consumers and readers, is enormously appealing to us,” says Markus Dohle, Chairman and CEO of Random House and Member of the Executive Board of Bertelsmann AG. “We intend to provide our new Smashing Ideas colleagues with abundant resources to help them grow as a profit center, as well as a creative force.”

UK, London & USA, Seattle, WA

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Salesforce.com completes its acquisition of Radian6

May 10, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Salesforce.com has completed its acquisition of Radian6, a social media monitoring platform used by more than half of FORTUNE 100 companies. It is reported that the price paid was $326 million.

Radian6’s unique technology captures hundreds of millions of conversations every day across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, blogs and online communities. The intelligence gained from these conversations helps companies better market and sell to prospects, serve customers and understand what’s being said about their brands, products and competitors.

“Radian6 adds huge value to salesforce.com by delivering the public, social web across all our products,” said Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO, salesforce.com. “Giving customers the social intelligence they want with the business context they need will further differentiate our products and accelerate our growth.”

USA, San Francisco, CA

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Publicis Groupe acquires Tailor Made

April 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Publicis Groupe is acquiring Tailor Made, a Brazilian independent advertising agency established by Paulo Giovanni. According to the terms of the agreement, Publicis Groupe immediately acquires a minority stake of the new agency, and has the possibility of increasing its participation to 100% by 2013. The agency will be integrated into Leo Burnett Brazil, which will be renamed Leo Burnett Tailor Made. It will be chaired by Paulo Giovanni, newly named CEO of Leo Burnett Tailor Made.

Leo Burnett Tailor Made will work out of Leo Burnett’s current offices in Sao Paulo, and will provide its clients with the full range of communications services. With 160 communications professionals, the agency will service clients including Fiat, Procter & Gamble, Rossi, Samsung, Walmart / Sam’s Club, Phillip Morris, Camil, Emirates, Chrysler Group and Radio Disney.

Brazil is an important market for Publicis Groupe. Today’s announcement is the third transaction for Publicis Groupe this month in Brazil, following the acquisition of GP7, and the increased participation (60%) in the Talent Group. Publicis Groupe’s 2010 operations in Brazil include the acquisitions of Taterka (minority share) and AG2.

Tom Bernardin said: “Our objectives for Leo Burnett Brazil are bold and aggressive. With our already strong presence in the market and a reputation for creative excellence, the acquisition of Tailor Made, and most importantly the leadership of Paulo Giovanni, we are better positioned than ever to take advantage of the opportunities in this booming market. Paulo is a proven leader and I am delighted to welcome him to the Leo Burnett Worldwide leadership team.”

France, Paris & Brazil, San Paulo

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ValueClick acquires Greystripe for $70M

April 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

ValueClick has acquired Greystripe for approximately $70 million in cash. Greystripe is a leading brand-focused mobile advertising network. Greystripe’s management team and employee base have been retained by ValueClick, and the business will be run as a wholly-owned subsidiary within ValueClick Media.

For the remainder of 2011, Greystripe is expected to contribute to ValueClick’s consolidated results approximately $24-$26 million in revenue and $2-$3 million in adjusted-EBITDA.

Greystripe’s proprietary advertising platform serves billions of rich media impressions to over 30 million users of touch-driven devices through more than 3,500 application titles and mobile websites across all major mobile platforms.

“Greystripe accelerates ValueClick’s move ‘up the marketing funnel’ with brand advertisers and gives ValueClick Media immediate scale and expertise in the large and fast-growing mobile ad market,” said Jim Zarley, chief executive officer of ValueClick. “We see great traffic and revenue synergies between ValueClick and Greystripe, and we’re looking forward to working closely with the Greystripe team to take full advantage of the opportunities that this combination offers.”

Montgomery & Co. acted as financial advisor to Greystripe. Steamboat Ventures, Monitor Ventures, Peacock Equity, and Incubic Venture Capital were investors in Greystripe.

USA, Westlake Village, CA & San Francisco, CA

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Publicis Groupe to acquire GP7

April 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Publicis Groupe is to acquire GP7, a Sao Paulo-based advertising agency focused on emerging social classes as well as travel and tourism. The agency will be renamed Publicis Red Lion (a unit of Publicis Brazil), and will be aligned with Publicis Worldwide. The CEO of GP7, Joao Fernando Vassao, will become Managing Director of Publicis Red Lion and will henceforth report to Orlando Marques, CEO of Publicis Brazil.

GP7 was established in 2004 and employs 40 communications specialists. The agency offers the full range of advertising and communications services including creative work, corporate communication, strategic planning, media buying and marketing services. Key clients include CVC Turismo (largest tour operator in Latin America), Car System (car satellite monitoring system), Yakult (dairy products), Webjet Linhas Aereas (airline company), GJP Hotels & Resorts, and GJP Participacoes (investment company).

This transaction follows Publicis Groupe’s acquisition of a majority stake in the Talent Group last week, as well as 2010 operations such as acquiring Taterka (minority share) and AG2. Bolstering its presence in Brazil remains a key strategic priority for Publicis Groupe.

Publicis Groupe has nearly 1, 200 employees in Brazil and is present through its global networks Leo Burnett, Publicis Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi, VivaKi, and MSLGROUP.

Jean-Yves Naouri, Executive Chairman of Publicis Worldwide, “GP7 is yet another step forward in Publicis Worldwide’s growth strategy in Brazil which is now its third regional market. This acquisition not only bolsters our teams but also broadens the range of services we can offer our clients at local and international levels.”

France, Paris & Brazil, San Paulo

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Publicis Groupe takes a majority Stake in Brazil’s Talent Group

April 21, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Publicis Groupe has acquired a further 11% in Brazil’s Talent Group, bringing its stake up to 60%. The increased participation follows Publicis Groupe’s acquisition of 49% of the agency in October 2010. This latest move does not impact Talent management, and the agency remains under the leadership of founding partners Julio Ribeiro and Paulo Zoega. Talent will continue to align under the Publicis Worldwide global advertising network. Publicis Groupe will be able to consolidate Talent in its numbers from April 5, 2011.

With more than 230 employees, Talent is one of the most prominent advertising groups in Brazil, and provides advertising services such as strategy, creative, media planning, digital communication, below-the-line, promotion, activation and mass media communication. The agency services clients such as Semp Toshiba (electronics), Santander (banking), Net (cable TV, internet and telephone operator), Ipiranga (fuel), Tigre (PVC products), Alpargatas (fashion), Dicico (home improvement), Serasa Experian (database management), Jequiti Cosmeticos (beauty and health care), Mapfre (insurance), Ovomaltine (food and beverage), Adria Alimentos (food) and Monsanto (biotechnology).

This transaction is in line with Publicis Groupe’s strategy of targeted acquisitions aimed at bolstering its presence in high-growth markets such as Brazil. According to ZenithOptimedia forecasts (April 2011), Brazil ad expenditure grew by 18.1% in 2010. The forecasts predict a 9.5% increase over the course of 2011, followed by 7.0% and 7.2% growth in 2012 and 2013 respectively. Brazil is to become the sixth ad market in the world in 2011.

Publicis Groupe has close to 900 employees in Brazil and is present through its global networks Leo Burnett, Publicis Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi, VivaKi, and MSLGROUP.

Comments Jean-Yves Naouri, Chief Operating Officer Publicis Groupe & Executive Chairman Publicis Worldwide, “Brazil is one of the most promising markets in the world and Talent is one of the most accomplished agencies in Brazil. This partnership will fuel growth for both partners and signals Publicis Worldwide’s continued intent to build strength in fast moving BRIC markets”.

France, Paris & Brazil

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Publicis Groupe sells its stake in Freud Communications

April 21, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Publicis Groupe is to sell its shares in Freud Communications to the agency’s Founder and Chairman, Matthew Freud. Since 2005, Publicis Groupe has owned a majority stake in the UK public relations firm.

Publicis Groupe will continue to provide clients in the UK and globally with the complete range of services in branding and public relations through agencies within its global PR network MSLGROUP.

Said Olivier Fleurot, CEO of MSLGROUP, “I enjoyed working with Matthew and I have a lot of respect for his skills. We wish him success in his future endeavors.”

France, Paris & UK, London

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PR consultancy Ketchum acquires majority stake in India’s Sampark PR

April 21, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Ketchum, one of the world’s largest global public relations consultancies, has acquired a majority stake in India, Sampark PR. This move, follows recent acquisitions in Greater China and Russia. Sampark PR  was founded in 1994 by Bela Rajan and N.S. Rajan, who, as director and managing director, will continue to lead the India business and will retain a significant holding in the agency going forward. It will operate as Ketchum Sampark.

Sampark PR, one of the leading PR networks in India, has broad national reach with offices located in Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad and a network of 80 associate offices that extends throughout the country’s 25 states, providing greater inroads into India for Ketchum’s international client businesses and global brands. In turn, Ketchum will provide greater access to international markets for blue-chip and burgeoning Indian companies and brands, many of which are turning to communications to help build and support their reputations. In fact, a recent study carried out by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM India) underscored the significant expansion of the public relations industry in India, which is growing 32 percent annually, measured against the acceleration of between 22 percent and 25 percent witnessed during the last few years.

“Today marks another important milestone for Ketchum as we continue to implement our global vision of providing consistently excellent communications service to our clients in the key business and communications markets where they operate,” said Ray Kotcher, senior partner and CEO, Ketchum. “Our investments over the past six months, in Russia, China and now India, are predicated on this strategy and fortify the foundation we have in place for our clients and our people.”

As part of the transaction, in addition to Bela Rajan and N.S. Rajan, the India operation’s board of directors will include Higgins, Robert Lorfink, senior partner, COO, and CFO of Ketchum, and Tom Harrison, chairman and CEO of Diversified Agency Services, a division of Omnicom Group. The leadership team of Bela Rajan, N.S. Rajan and Ajay Sharma, managing partner, will continue to manage the day-to-day operations of the agency in India.

“The enormous potential in India leads to a strong demand for communications services from global companies operating in the region and Indian companies looking at new markets. This is an ideal time to reach this agreement,” said N.S. Rajan. “We are eager to work with the board and Ketchum’s leadership group to expand our partnership with Ketchum and maximize opportunities for our clients. We believe we can better service our clients and can accomplish far more together in the years ahead than we could have achieved on our own.”

USA, New York, NY & India, Mumbai

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RMG Newtworks acquires Executive Media Network Worldwide

April 21, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

RMG Networks has acquired airport executive lounge media business, Executive Media Network Worldwide (EMN). EMN controls virtually all of the place-based video media assets in United, Continental, Delta, US Airways, Alaska, as well as the US based inventor for KLM, Lufthansa, and Air France executive airline lounges. EMN also has rights to sell video media assets in the terminals of the most traveled airports and executive airports in the United States and Europe, including WiFi advertising, touch screen and experiential campaigns. In addition to airport media, EMN has advertising assets on the Amtrak Acela Express train.

“Combining EMN’s dominant position in airport digital media with RMG’s leadership position in in-flight captive seat-back television is a powerful integrated media solution for advertisers.”

“Advertisers have demonstrated a desire to intercept affluent, senior executives in captive viewing environments. Fortune 500 software, auto, insurance and consumer goods companies have all recognised the powerful impact of captive viewing in DOOH Media Environments,” said Garry McGuire CEO, RMG Networks. “Combining EMN’s dominant position in airport digital media with RMG’s leadership position in in-flight captive seat-back television is a powerful integrated media solution for advertisers.”

Acquisition financing is being provided by Los Angeles-based investment manager Tennenbaum Capital Partners, LLC.

USA, San Francisco, CA

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