IPG sells huge sum to private equity firm AEA Investors

Interpublic Group sold its design and technology agency experience Huge to private equity firm AEA Investors. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

As part of the transaction, AEA Investors will combine Huge with Digital heroa customer experience company she already owns.

AEA Investors said the combined agency will become one of the world’s largest independent experience transformation companies and clients will benefit from the two agencies’ complementary capabilities, differentiated service offerings and expanded global reach.

Huge was founded in 1999 and counts ExxonMobil, Google, McDonald’s, NBCUniversal and Nike among its notable clients. IPG acquired a $40 million stake in Huge in 2008.

Lisa De Bonis, CEO of Huge, said in a statement: “This partnership comes at a critical time in the industry, as demand for intelligent experiences that combine innovation and real, measurable impact increases. »

“Together, we will leverage our collective creativity and talent to continue to deliver the best experiences, marketing and commerce solutions, supporting the growth of our customers and the combined company,” added Jay Dettling, CEO of Hero Digital.

Houlihan Lokey and Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisors, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher provided legal representation to IPG and Huge.

Unloading and integration

IPG has been shopping Huge for most of the year, alongside sister digital agency R/GA, as the network struggles to keep up with its peers in the market.

IPG recorded a 2.9% drop in revenue in the third quartercompared to Growth of 5.8% for Publicis Groupe, Omnicom grows 6.5% And A roughly stable quarter for WPP. His performance has remained consistent this year.

Huge is not the first IPG agency sold to private equity this year; the holding company sold creative agencies Hill Holliday and Deutsch New York to the Attivo group, based in New Zealand, in January.

But IPG does not just rotate assets. He is always captivating in areas he considers green shoots. At the same time as announcing the Huge spin-off today (December 5), IPG also announced its $100 million acquisition from Mumbai-based business analytics firm, Intelligence Node.