MSQ buys January Digital to scale up its US media business
What's the deal? London-based MSQ GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has acquired US media agency January DigitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → to strengthen its media offering and grow its US footprint. Terms were not disclosed. January Digital's leadership will join MSQ and keep its name.
What each brings: Private equity-backed MSQ owns agencies including Big Spaceship, ArkeDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, ElmwoodDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, 26PMXDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Forge, and employs 2,000 people globally, 500 of them in the US. January Digital, a 14-year-old media and strategy agency founded by chief executive officer Vic Drabicky, works with brands including SupergoopDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Steve Madden, and Amika.
Why now? MSQ already offered media services, but its US presence was "sub-scale" and concentrated in sectors like financial services and professional associations, said Aaron Lang, US president of MSQ PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. He said the hard part was finding a mid-size target: "There's either the really large scale of the holding companies or there's parts and pieces."
What's the endgame? Lang called January Digital a "tentpole acquisition" aimed at winning bigger US clients, with smaller deals potentially to follow. "We feel that with that acquisition, we're able to compete with just about anybody," he said.
Drabicky had sought a strategic buyer for more than a year, citing MSQ's financial, business, and cultural fit. "When you're an independent, you can only develop at such a certain rate," he said. January Digital has also diversified: retail now accounts for 70% of clients, down from nearly all five years ago.
The signal: The deal reflects continued consolidation in advertising, as mid-size independents seek the scale and breadth needed to compete with the major holding companies.
Read more: adweek.com
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