Dentsu Aegis Network acquires Grant Group

Dentsu Aegis Network has entered the Sri Lanka market by acquiring the 59 year old family run integrated advertising Grant Group. In South Asia, Sri Lanka becomes the second market after India where Dentsu Aegis Network has an equity holding.

Established in 1958 by Deshabandu Reggie Candappa also known as the godfather of advertising in Sri Lanka – the Grant Group offers services across creative, media, outdoor, content and public relations. In 1993, it became an associate of Interpublic Group of Companies (ICG) owned advertising agency McCann Erickson. The group currently employs 150 people across seven entities under two main groups: Grant Advertising and Grand Media.

Post-acquisition, Grant Advertising will be rebranded as Dentsu Grant while Grant Media will join Dentsu Aegis global media network brand, Carat. Other Global agency brands within the network will integrate with their local agency counterparts stated a statement. Grant group services over 60 local and international clients including some of Sri Lanka’s largest advertisers including Ceylon Biscuits, Sampath Bank, telecommunication firm Dialog Axiata, dairy company Fonterra and Sri Lanka tea Board among others.

Part of Dentsu Inc., Dentsu Aegis Network is made up of 10 global network brands – Carat, Dentsu, Dentsu Media, iProspect, Isobar, mcgarrybowen, Merkle, MKTG, Posterscope and Vizeum and supported by its specialist/multi-market brands. Headquartered in London, it operates in 145 countries worldwide with more than 38,000 dedicated specialists.

Quess Corp acquired Randstad India

Quess Corp, an integrated business service provider owned by Thomas Cook India has signed a deal to buy Sri Lankan arm of human resource provider Randstad India for an undisclosed amount. This acquisition of Randstad India Pvt. Ltd will strengthen Quess position as a leading provider of integrated HR solutions across staffing, permanent recruitment, executive search and recruitment process outsourcing.

The acquisition will strengthen Quess position as a leading Pan Asian player serving clients across South Asia, Middle East and South-East Asia. The acquisition is subject to statutory and regulatory approvals. Headquartered in Colombo, Randstad Lanka is one of the top five HR Services providers in Sri Lanka with a workforce of over 400 employees and having several Fortune 500 clients.

Bengaluru based Quess Corp has presence across five segments namely, global technology solutions, industrial asset management, integrated facilities management, people, services and logistics, and growth businesses group. It has pursued an aggressive acquisitions strategy, buying around 10 companies across different geographies and businesses for an estimated Rs 200 crore in the last five years.

In June this year, it acquired a 49 percent stake in Transfield Services WLL, which operates in the oil & gas market in Qatar and the Indian facility management business of American multinational Aramark, which operates in hospitality and healthcare facility management. Other companies that it acquired includes Canada based staffing firm Brainhunter Companies.