• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, April 3, 2013

Aegis Media has acquired Chinese digital planning and buying agency Beijing Wonder Advertising Co. The deal comes just a week after Tokyo-based Dentsu completed its $5 billion acquisition of Aegis Group. Chinese regulatory approval, one of the last hurdles to the deal, also came last week.

Terms were not disclosed, but Dentsu said that Beijing Wonder had gross profits of approximately $11.2 million in 2011.

According to Aegis, Bejing Wonder Advertising -- or WonderAd, as the agency is known -- will be aligned with media shop Carat. As a result of the deal, Aegis asserted that Carat will become one of the leading digital buyers in China.

WonderAd is a specialist in China’s rapidly growing online gaming industry, with strengths in eCRM and performance marketing. The shop has offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.

“The acquisition of WonderAd advances our strategy of investing in high-quality digital assets in China,” stated Nick Waters, CEO Aegis Media Asia Pacific.

WonderAd was founded in 2003 and employs a staff of over 200. Clients include Tencent Gaming, NetEase Gaming, TaKang Life Insurance, and ICBC/Credit Suisse etc.

WonderAd will continue to be led by CEO and founder Eric Liu, who said of the deal: “We believe it will bring many more resources and beneficial opportunities for our clients, employees and partners.” Laetitia Feng will continue as the agency’s chief operating officer.