Omnicom Group's DDB Worldwide Acquires Grupo ABC

NEW YORK and SAO PAULO, Nov. 23, 2015 /CNW/ -- DDB Worldwide, a division of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC), announced today that it has acquired Grupo ABC, the largest independent advertising and marketing communications group in Brazil.

Grupo ABC's versatile group of agencies consists of best-in-class brand advertising agencies as well as specialized offerings in public relations, CRM, digital, promotion and events. The group has a diverse network of agencies including DM9 (Sao Paulo), in minority partnership with DDB; Africa and Loducca, each recognized among the best creative advertising agencies in the world; CDN, a leading public relations agency; Sunset, a specialized digital agency; and Newstyle, a leading promotion and point of sale (POS) company in the country.

"Grupo ABC is widely acknowledged as an outstanding company with impressive creative work and expertise in a broad range of disciplines," said John Wren, President and CEO of Omnicom Group. "Over the years, Grupo ABC have been great partners of Omnicom and their depth of talent will strengthen our business capabilities not only in Brazil but around the world."

Legendary Brazilian advertising leaders Nizan Guanaes and Guga Valente, who will continue in their leadership roles, founded Grupo ABC in 2002. The acquisition strengthens a long-standing historical relationship between both holding companies in the region extending as far back as 1997 when DDB first invested in DM9, today one of the largest and most creatively awarded advertising agencies in Brazil.

"This is a world of disruption, scale and innovation and Omnicom will empower our companies to compete in times of extraordinary technological changes," commented Guga Valente, CEO, Grupo ABC.

"Omnicom has the most creative and awarded agencies in the world and that is something that really matters to me and to all of us in ABC. Together we will be better prepared to serve our clients with all of the innovation and digital capabilities that modern business are demanding nowadays," continues Nizan Guanaes, Partner and Co-founder, Grupo ABC.

"This partnership will further unite two companies that have long held the same values and creative ambitions," said Chuck Brymer, CEO of DDB Worldwide. "I have known Nizan and Guga for more than a decade and have sincerely admired their success and influence both in and out of Brazil. It is a tremendous addition to both DDB and Omnicom and we are excited at the opportunity to utilize our combined assets to help our clients generate growth."

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval in Brazil and is expected to close by the first quarter of 2016.

About Grupo ABC
Grupo ABC is the largest Brazilian communications group in Latin America and ranked among the top 25 largest advertising companies in the world. Founded in 2002 by Nizan Guanaes and Guga Valente, Grupo ABC's network of agencies and marketing services companies now includes Africa, Loducca, Sunset, Newstyle and CDN, among others.

Headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Grupo ABC has 30 locations and more than 2,000 employees serving world-class clients such as Banco Itau, P&G, J&J, Ambev, Heinz, BR Food, Walmart, Mitsubishi, Vivo, Telefonica, among others. Most recently, Grupo ABC agencies won more than 150 Lions in Cannes. In addition, the agencies have repeatedly won Agencies of the Year by the Cannes International Festival of Creativity. In 2014, Africa, one of ABC leading agencies, was appointed Ad Age's International Agency of the Year.

About DDB
DDB Worldwide (www.ddb.com) is one of the world's largest and most influential advertising and marketing networks. DDB has been named Agency of the Year numerous times by the Cannes International Festival of Creativity and the industry's leading advertising publications and awards shows. The Gunn Report has listed DDB as one of the Top 3 Global Networks for 12 of the last 15 years. The agency's clients include Volkswagen, McDonald's, Unilever, Mars, Johnson & Johnson, and Exxon Mobil, among others.

Founded in 1949, DDB is part of the Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC) and consists of more than 200 offices in over 90 countries with its flagship office in New York, NY.

About Omnicom Group Inc.
Omnicom Group (www.omnicomgroup.com) is a leading global marketing and corporate communications company.  Omnicom's branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, digital and interactive marketing, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries. Follow us on Twitter for the latest news.

CONTACT:  

Christie Giera
Director of Corporate Communications, DDB Worldwide
Email: [email protected]
Phone: [phone]

SOURCE DDB Worldwide