By Kevin McCauley
Publicis Groupe has acquired Rosetta, the largest independent digital agency, for $575M in cash and earn-outs.
Princeton-based Rosetta, which counts clients in the healthcare, consumer products, telecommunications, and financial services sectors, is expected to generate $250M in revenues from nine-office network (New York, Cleveland, Los Angeles and San Jose).
The firm has more than 1,100 staffers serving clients such as Johnson & Johnson, Hewlett-Packard, Marriott, Allergan, Valvoline, T-Mobile and Bristol Myers Squibb.
Publicis CEO Maurice Levy said in a statement that the Rosetta addition will accelerate his goal of becoming the “human all digital agency.”
The deal bolsters Publicis’ digital exposure to from 28 percent to 30 percent of overall revenues. That digital number is expected to hit 35 percent in 2014. The digital group includes Digitas, Razorfish and Publicis Modem.
Levy believes Rosetta stands apart from the pack due to its combination of “savoir-faire in consulting and strategic services with an expertise in technology and creative agency services.”
Chris Kuenne founded Rosetta in 1998. He now reports to Jean-Yves Naouri, COO of Publicis.
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