Dentsu Aegis Network has agreed to acquire Danish
digital agency Magnetix, subject to regulatory approval. Once completed, plans call for the agency’s two leaders to take on a broader management role for DAN’s Isobar agency network in the
Nordics region, which includes Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.
Terms weren’t disclosed, but estimates in the Danish press valued the deal at about $30 million, and possibly
more if certain performance benchmarks are met going forward.
When the acquisition closes, the 16-year-old agency, based in Copenhagen, will be rebranded “Magnetix—Linked by
Isobar,” and integrated into Isobar’s existing operation in Denmark. And the agency’s two leaders-- Martin Bochineck, Magnetix Founder and CEO, and Christina Rind Helsbro,
Magnetix COO, will lead the entire Isobar offering across the Nordics region. They will report to Paal Fure, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network Nordic.
Magnetix’s offering includes
digital communications, e-marketing, eCommerce and digital CRM and customer loyalty programs. Clients at the agency, which has a staff of 130, include ECCO, Coloplast and Tivoli Gardens.
Lars Bo Jeppesen, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network Nordics, Central & Eastern Europe stated that with the acquisition, “it is now our plan to strengthen our Nordic eCommerce capability and
become the No. 1 digital agency in the region.”
Digital advertising expenditures in Denmark are currently growing at a double digit pace. According to Carat’s latest
estimate, digital ad spend in the country grew 11% in 2015 and is forecast to grow 10.5% this year and 9.0% in 2017.