Dentsu Aegis acquires SVG Media

Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN), a global digital marketing major headquartered in London, UK, has acquired Indian marketing services group SVG Media Pvt. Ltd in an all cash deal. Smile Group owns majority stake in SVG Media, which counts Xplorer Capital as an institutional backer.

SVG Media was founded in 2006 as a business owned by Smile Group, that runs a slew of e-commerce and internet businesses. SVG Media has four business units, namely DGM (focused on banking, financial service and e-commerce clients), Komli (premium digital marketing through Facebook and Twitter), SeventyNine (mobile-focused advertising platform) and Tyroo (ad-tech platform similar to InMobi), together reaching over 150 million unique viewers in India. It has offices in Gurgaon, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru.

As part of the deal, Smile Group has sold DGM, Komli and SeventyNine (under SVG Media) to DAN. Tyroo, which is retained, is transferred to a separate legal entity and will continue to be owned by Smile Group. SVG Media had acquired Komli Media and SeventyNine in August 2015 and December 2014, respectively, and DGM in 2010.

For DAN this comes as their 10th acquisition in India since 2012, according to data shared by the company. Some of these include Fractal Ink Design Studio, Happy Creative, WATConsult, Webchutney and Taproot. Just recently, it closed the acquisition of Grant Group, a 59-year old family run advertising services company in Sir Lanka. DAN was formed in 2012 through the acquisition of Japanese advertising giant Dentsu by British media buying Aegis Media in 2012.

Part of Dentsu Inc., DAN is made up of 10 global network brands: Carat, Dentsu, Dentsu media, iProspect, Isobar, mcgarrybowen, Merkle, MKTG, Posterscope and Vizeum. Headquartered in London, it operates in 145 countries worldwide with more than 38,000 dedicated specialists.

Snapdeal in talks to buy Komli

A major acquisition in the mobile advertising space seems only a matter of time as e-commerce players flex their financial muscle to bring in the next piece of their jigsaw puzzle. Sources indicate that the likes of Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon, and Shopclues, are all in the market for acquisition. The target seems to be broadly divided in two categories – mobile tech and mobile banking.

Online retailer Snapdeal is in advanced talks to acquire Komli Media in a deal that values the ad technology company at about $300 Million, the same as when it raised funds from investors. The deal will give Snapdeal engineering capabilities in Bengaluru as it battles Flipkart, as well as it notch up advertising revenues by selling space on the e-commerce site. Snapdeal had an estimated 79.8 monthly visitors in February and Flipkart had 110.5 Million.

Flipkart recently made clear its plans to sell advertising on its platform. The ecommerce firm also acquired ad technology company AdIQuity. Komli was founded by Amar Goel in 2006 and has raised $97 Million in five rounds of funding from investors including Nexus Ventures Partners and Peepul Capital. It employs nearly 300 people across India and started as a digital advertising network – buying and selling advertising inventory online in Asia Pacific.

Goel also set up Pubmatic, focused on technology for online advertising in the US in 2008. InMobi, another ad network based in Bengaluru, was founded a year later and went on to raise $200 Million from Japan Softbank. Driven by increased spending by ecommerce companies, India’s online advertising market is set to grow by 30% this financial year to reach a total size of Rs 3,575 crore.