Sorrell's S4 Capital continues acquisition spree

Paige Murphy
By Paige Murphy | 29 April 2019
 
Martin Sorrell

S4 Capital has continued to expand the capabilities of its creative digital content production company MediaMonks and its programmatic consultancy MightyHive with the addition of two businesses.

MediaMonks has purchased food and liquids film studio Caramel Pictures, based in Amsterdam, for an undisclosed cash sum.

Broadening MediaMonks' content studio's capabilities, the purchase of the globally-operated studio adds directors, specialist crews, studio, robotic equipment and over 25 years of experience in digital photography and film for FMCG brands.

Caramel Pictures' clients include Heinekin, KFC, KitKat, Lays, Magnum and Senseo, as well as FMCG companies such as Coca-Cola, Danone, Nestlé and Unilever.

MightyHive has merged with ProgMedia, a Sao Paulo-based programmatic consultancy founded two years ago by ex-Google employees Bruno Rebouças and Natalia Fernandes.

ProgMedia will become MightyHive's Latin American base, helping the consultancy capture market opportunity and extend its capabilities in the world's fourth largest market.

The South American consultancy currently employs 27 people and its clients include iFood and Serasa Consumidor.

Consideration for ProgMedia will be half cash and half in S4 Capital ordinary shares, which will have a two-year restriction on sale.

A completion payment will be made based on the audited accounts for 2018 and a further payment will be made based on achieving the targeted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amotisation (EBITDA) for 2019, as soon as the audited accounts are available.

S4 Capital executive chairman Sir Martin Sorrell says that these two additions were in line with S4 Capital's recently announced strategic imperatives.

"Client interest in our purely digital, first party data, always-on 24/7 programmatic model is frenetic," Sorrell says.

"These two further strategic moves in the premium quality, digital content area and programmatic in Latam deepen and broaden that powerfully attractive offer."

MediaMonks, founded in the Netherlands, has 650 staff in 10 countries across Europe, the Americas and Asia.

Late last year Sorrell and S4 continued their acquisition run, adding programmatic advertising group, Mighty Hive, to its ranks for US$150 million.

Sorrell launched S4 Capital early last year after a public exit from WPP amid claims of personal misconduct and misuse of company assets.

Despite Sorrell denying the allegations, he ended his 33-year tenure as boss and founder of the world’s largest advertising and PR group in April 2018.

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