Home Agencies WPP Accelerates Tech M&A With Stake In Argentina’s Globant

WPP Accelerates Tech M&A With Stake In Argentina’s Globant

SHARE:

wpp-globantWPP Group has taken a 20% stake in Globant, a fast growing Latin American marketing and software development firm.

Buenos Aires-based Globant blends engineering and design-driven driven approaches. It employs 2,700 in six countries — including Brazil, Argentina, and Columbia — and offers its clients software development, data architecture, e-commerce applications, design, and mobile development services. American Express, LinkedIn, and Google are among its customers.

The $70 million investment, which closed on Dec 27, reinforces WPP’s long-stated determination to grow through technology M&A. It has said it wants digital revenues to reach 35+ percent of total revenues by 2016. But the deal is unique in that it represents a  significant departure from what we think of as “marketing.”

WPP’s technology investments — from the purchase of 24/7 Media in 2007 right up through last summer’s acquisition of ad tech consultant Acceleration — have tended to focus on digital media planning and buying. However Globant doesn’t offer media services, digital or otherwise. That could be read as sign of WPP ‘s interest in diversifying its “marketing tech” holdings, as well as a desire to get into big software development projects that may only partially overlap with marketing. (projects such as corporate intranets, visualization of business data, and other areas not traditionally within the purview of the ad business.)

If that seems to put WPP into competition with large technology consultants such as Deloitte and Accenture, that’s probably because it does.

As WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell put it in a statement today, “Increasingly, clients want better coordination between their IT departments and their marketing departments, between their Chief Information Officers and their Chief Marketing Officers. There are many consulting companies or digital agencies that are expert in one function or the other. Few, if any, do both and even fewer can integrate deep technical and creative capabilities on a global scale as Globant does.”

In part this deal is also about preparing for a big Latin American decade, as Brazil plays host to two global sporting events: the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

Globant’s net revenues for 2011 were $90 million and $57 million for the six months of 2012 2012. The $70 million WPP is pumping into it values the company at $350 million.

Must Read

play button with many coins isolated on blue background. The concept of monetization of the video. Making money on video content. minimal style. 3d rendering

Exclusive: Connatix And JW Player Merge To Create A One-Stop Shop For Video Monetization

On Wednesday, video monetization platforms Connatix and JW Player announced plans to merge into a new entity called JWP Connatix. The deal was first rumored in July.

HUMAN Raises $50 Million

HUMAN plans to build a deterministic ID from its tracking of more than 20 trillion digital signals per week across 3 billion devices, which will aid attribution for ecommerce.

Buyers Can Now Target High-Attention Inventory In The Trade Desk

By applying Adelaide’s Attention Unit scoring, buyers can target low-, medium- and high-attention inventory via TTD’s self-serve platform.

Privacy! Commerce! Connected TV! Read all about it. Subscribe to AdExchanger Newsletters

How Should Advertisers Navigate A TikTok Ban Or Google Breakup? Just Ask Brian Wieser

The online advertising industry is staring down the barrel of not one but two potential shutdowns that could radically change where brands put their ad dollars in 2025, according to Madison and Wall’s Brian Weiser and Olivia Morley.

Intent IQ Has Patents For Ad Tech’s Most Basic Functions – And It’s Not Afraid To Use Them

An unusual dilemma has programmatic vendors and ad tech platforms worried about a flurry of potential patent infringement suits.

TikTok Video For Open Web Publishers? Outbrain Built It.

Outbrain is trying to shed its chumbox rep by bringing social media-style vertical video to mobile publishers on the open web.