The Brandtech Group acquires Jellyfish

The Brandtech Group has acquired 100% of world digital media and Slot Online advertising and marketing firm Jellyfish.

The deal creates the biggest digital-only advertising and marketing group on the earth, with greater than $1bn in income and over 7,000 workers working for eight out of ten of the world’s largest advertisers, and 49 of the highest 100.

The Brandtech Group first introduced it had entered into unique negotiations to amass Jellyfish from its private-equity proprietor Fimalac final August.

Ex-Havas CEO David Jones based The Brandtech Group, then referred to as You & Mr Jones, in 2015 following a $300m fundraising spherical. Jones got down to purchase high-growth, disruptive firms that solved entrepreneurs’ greatest ache factors in areas starting from in-housing to influencer advertising and marketing, knowledge, e-commerce, metaverse, gaming, and AI. The corporate at the moment owns quite a lot of properties, together with Oliver, Collectively, Gravity Highway, Mofilm, and Mobkoi. It has additionally beforehand invested in Pinterest, metaverse firm Niantic, GIF sharing web site Gfycat, purpose-powered advert platform Good-Loop, and tech platform Vidmob.

That is the Group’s ninth acquisition and comes after its July 2022 deal to amass Acorn-i, the worldwide AI-driven e-commerce software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform and Superior Amazon Accomplice.

Jellyfish was based in 2005 by Rob Pierre and at the moment has greater than 2,200 workers throughout 38 workplaces world wide. Its shoppers embrace Disney, ESPN, eBay, Netflix, Nike, Nestlé, Samsung, Spotify, Ps, and Uber. The corporate’s London-based workplace is in The Shard.

In recent times, Jellyfish grew to develop into a prime reseller of Google advert merchandise, going as far as to check with itself as “Google Companies Restricted”. Its success led to French holding firm Fimalac buying a majority stake within the firm for £500m in November 2019. For the reason that pandemic, nevertheless, the broader digital promoting market has buckled amid unsure macroeconomic situations, and elevated competitors from different companies have threatened Jellyfish’s digital dominance.

Reflecting on the acquisition, Jones stated: “Advertising and marketing will get ever extra sophisticated and our shoppers come to us for one factor: to assist simplify this very advanced world. After I created the corporate we got down to be the perfect on the earth at serving to shoppers join content material, knowledge and media utilizing expertise and bringing Jellyfish into the Group permits us to take this to the subsequent degree.

“I first met Rob and Jellyfish again in 2016 and it’s been extremely spectacular to see what he and the workforce have constructed through the years. Each firms are trade disruptors at international scale, each constructed on founder power, and each are obsessive about fixing our shoppers greatest advertising and marketing challenges. And we additionally share the assumption that expertise is the important thing to doing this. I’m clearly enthusiastic about bringing them into the Group however much more excited for what we at the moment are going to have the ability to ship for our shoppers. And I’m thrilled to welcome Fimalac as shareholders and board members.”

Emery takes Jellyfish reins

As a part of the acquisition, the brand new firm’s management workforce is altering. Pierre will transfer to the newly-created function of chair of Jellyfish, and alongside David Jones will give attention to additional merger and acquisition targets to construct out Jellyfish’s international footprint.

Nick Emery, founding accomplice and CEO of Brandtech Media, will substitute Pierre as CEO of Jellyfish, the place he can be accountable for the corporate’s day-to-day operations.

A brand new Jellyfish board will comprise Pierre, Jones, Emery, Brandtech Group accomplice Emma Cookson, vice chair and Brandtech Media CFO Daybreak Dickie, group common counsel Betty Louie, Jellyfish CFO Chris Lee, and Jellyfish COO Ed Ball. Emery is govt Chair and can chair the board.

The brand new roles take impact instantly.

“Quick-paced, fragmented and platform-led, at present’s media panorama is altering at lighting velocity,” stated Pierre. “Supporting the ambitions of at present’s international manufacturers requires one thing distinctive and that’s what I consider we’ve been constructing at Jellyfish.

“The chemistry with The Brandtech Group was prompt and compelling. Becoming a member of the Group will supercharge our capabilities and ambitions as we transfer into the subsequent chapter of the Jellyfish story. I couldn’t be extra excited.”