Aegis Acquires WGarden, Ups Digital Presence In France

Aegis Group has acquired the search and related digital marketing assets of France’s WGarden, the holding company has confirmed. Terms weren’t disclosed, but Aegis said that the asset value of the acquired properties totaled $8 million.

The deal strengthens Aegis’ already sizeable media presence in France. According to media agency tracker RECMA, the company’s billings there exceed $2.6 billion, which is close to 35% of the market.

Aegis indicated that WGarden assets will be folded into its iProspect operation, making it “one of the leading search and performance marketing specialists in France.”

The company suggested part of the appeal of the acquistion was the network of offices that WGarden has established across France, along with local client base it has developed. The search specialist has done work for clients such as Longchamp, Adecco and Monoprix.

Aegis said the asset integration would be completed in the third quarter of this year.

Founded in 2007, WGarden established itself as a leading provider of search services in France, with a particular focus on search engine optimization. More recently, it added capabilities for social media search.

Like other holding companies, Aegis has made a priority in recent years of expanding its digital asset portfolio.

In fact, consolidation within the digital agency space has picked up steam in the last couple of weeks. First, WPP announced that it was buying AKQA, one of the last major independent digital shops. Then, In the wake of that deal, word surfaced that Omnicom was in discussions to acquire another independent digital agency, LBi.

Analysts have also suggested that SapientNitro is a potential acquisition target, but no word yet has emerged about specific talks.

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