Dentsu reaches for Australian market

Dentsu has reached an agreement with the principal shareholders of Australian advertising company group Sydney-based Oddfellows Holdings to acquire a 51% stake in the company. Under the terms of the agreement, Oddfellows Holdings will become a wholly owned subsidiary by the end of 2017.Oddfellows Holdings owns three companies: advertising agency Oddfellows Pty Ltd; digital communications specialist @odds Pty Ltd and art and design studio @tack Pty Ltd. @odds Pty Ltd and @tack Pty Ltd are both 100% owned by Oddfellows, which also has alliances with film and animation studios as well as an audio & music studio.Dentsu has been providing services to its clients in Australia through both its brand and media agencies. The addition of the Oddfellows group of companies to the Dentsu Group is aimed at adding to its creative offerings in the market. Oddfellows Holdings Pty Ltd will be renamed Oddfellows/Dentsu Holdings Pty Ltd, and Oddfellows Pty Ltd will be renamed Oddfellows/Dentsu Pty Ltd. Andrew Black will be the CEO of all the Oddfellows/Dentsu companies.“Dentsu and Oddfellows have had a long and very fruitful working relationship and we are delighted to finally formalize this,” said Dick van Motman, CEO of Dentsu Asia.The network has been steadily increasing its footprint in Asia, earlier establishing two new Dentsu Group companies, Promo Tec Synergy in Malaysia and Promo Tech in Thailand, as well as making a string of senior hires, such as multiple senior creative appointments, and a regional CFO and talent lead.