Dentsu has reportedly hired investment banks Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley and Nomura Securities to look at selling its international advertising business.
The Financial Times, owned by the Japanese news group Nihon Keizai Shimbun, said dentsu had asked the banks to sound out potential buyers, including rival advertising groups.
Jiji Press in Japan quoted a dentsu source as saying nothing had been decided, with various options being considered
The Japan-based part of dentsu's business, making up 42% of net revenue, is doing well, posting 5.3% organic growth in the half year to June.
But the international component, including a -8.9% slide in Asia-Pacific, dragged the company down to negative 0.2%.
Dentsu, following the failure of its strategy to grow via acquisition, is switching to a platform of "dreaming big," concentrating on Japan and the US, and fixing its underperforming international business with a focus on media.
That means cutting 8% of international staff, some 3,400 people, mainly back office and headquarters headcount. The indication is that sales staff will be kept mostly intact.
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