• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, December 15, 2014

Dentsu Aegis Network is expanding its already sizable presence in Brazil with the acquisition of OOH Plus, the out-of-home agency holding company that has headquarters in both Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

Dentsu Aegis said the shop would be re-branded Plusmedia Posterscope and become the core of the newly launched Posterscope Latin America.

Plusmedia Posterscope will continue to operate under the leadership team of founders Marco Antonio de Souza, CEO, and Omar Sahyoun, CFO. The agency said they would report into Abel Reis, CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network Brazil. 

The acquired company, with five offices and 60 staff across Brazil, was founded in 2010 as the holding company for Plusmedia, OOH Media and 2S Producoes -- providing creativity, media planning and  production and lay-out services to clients, respectively. Immediately prior to closing, the companies were merged into Plusmedia, the unit that was subsequently acquired by Dentsu Aegis Network.

The company had revenues of about $5.8 million in 2013. Clients include several Coca-Cola brands, Fashion Mall Rio de Janeiro and mobile phone service provider Claro.

“We have wanted to have a presence in the Latin American market for some time, and believe we have found the right team who share our vision and passion for great Out-of-Home solutions,” said Annie Rickard, CEO Posterscope. “The growth of digital OOH and the importance of mobile will provide us with opportunities to pioneer and transform out-of-home in Brazil for our clients," Rickard added.

Previously, Dentsu had provided OOH services in the region via full-service shops like Dentsu Brazil, NBS and mcgarrybowen. The acquisition increases the number of Dentsu Group employees in Brazil to more than 1,400, and the number of clients to more than 100.

The acquisition is one of several recent developments Posterscope has disclosed in the OOH sector. Last week it unveiled what it claimed is the “first real-time trading platform for digital billboards,” a platform powered by Vistar Media. Separately, Posterscope and Vistar said they are working together on the application of location-based mobile data to optimize both traditional and digital OOH planning and buying.