Stagwell has agreed to acquire Create.Group, a Middle East digital agency specializing in strategy, social media, content production and data analytics. It will be aligned with Stagwell’s digital agency network Code And Theory. 

It’s the third recent M&A transaction for Stagwell in the Middle East/North Africa region following the acquisitions of Consulum (government consultancy) and Leaders (influencer marketing, social commerce) earlier this year. It’s also Stagwell’s 11th acquisition of 2024. 

The group has a staff of 150+ across the UAE (where it is headquartered), Saudi Arabia, and Egypt and consists of Create., the digital agency, and Create. Production, the contentproductionstudio. 

Clients include Abu Dhabi’s Department Of Culture & Tourism, Dubai Department of Economy, Sony Pictures, Volkswagen Middle East, COP29 and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.  

Tom Otton, founder and CEO of Create.Group will continue to lead the firm as it is integrated into the Code and Theory network, which now has 2,000 staff worldwide. 

“Create.Group is at the epicenter of a powerful emerging market with huge ambitions,” stated Dan Gardner, founder and executive chairman of Code and Theory. “They will now be able to expand their capabilities within Code and Theory Network to deliver best-in-class results locally and beyond."