• The Guardian , Wednesday, June 20, 2012 12:20 PM

AKQA, founded in 2001 by UK entrepreneur Ajaz Ahmed, is one of the few global independent advertising agencies that so far resisted being snapped up by one of the major marketing services giants. The move, which has stunned the advertising industry, values the company at almost £350 million. The deal is arguably the most significant in the digital advertising market since WPP's rival, Maurice Lévy's Publicis, bought Razorfish for $530 million in 2009. General Atlantic owned an 80% stake in AKQA, with the remainder held by management. 

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