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GroupM agrees to acquire controlling interest in MediaCom India

While MediaCom India will continue operating as an independent brand, the agency will have the access to GroupM's global infrastructure.

WPP's GroupM, a global media investment group, has announced that it will be acquiring a majority stake in MediaCom India, a joint venture between GroupM India and Sam Balsara, the principal shareholder of the Madison Media group.

GroupM agrees to acquire controlling interest in MediaCom India
According to an official statement, "While MediaCom India will continue operating as an independent brand, the agency will have the advantage of access to GroupM's global infrastructure. This acquisition continues WPP's strategy of investing in fast growth markets, new media and digital."
GroupM agrees to acquire controlling interest in MediaCom India
"The majority acquisition of MediaCom in India represents a significant evolution in one of the world's fastest growing economies. As India becomes a very attractive business hub for global clients, we are confident our talented team in India will deliver exemplary growth and results for all stakeholders," says, Stephen Allan, CEO, MediaCom Worldwide.
GroupM agrees to acquire controlling interest in MediaCom India
Speaking on the acquisition, CVL Srinivas, CEO, GroupM South Asia adds, "MediaCom India has won several prestigious clients, developed a strong digital presence and has delivered award-winning campaigns for clients. As a network, we have taken giant strides globally and in India towards a more data and tech-led core to our business. MediaCom India can harness our world-class media infrastructure to provide more value to its clients and people."

Founded in 2007, MediaCom India became a joint venture in 2008. Over the last eight years, it has established itself as one of the top 5 media agencies in the market in terms of market share (source: RECMA ratings 2015). In 2016, WARC ranked MediaCom India's Mumbai office as one of the top 10 media agencies in the world based on performance in effectiveness and strategy impact for its clients.

The Content + Connection agency, MediaCom India has won major awards, both global and local including M&M, Spikes Asia, FOM Asia as well as The Global Awards, EMVIEs, and ABBYs.

It is one of the world's leading media communications specialists, with billings exceeding USD 33 billion (Source: RECMA June 2016), employing 7,000 people in 125 offices across 100 countries. Its global client roster includes Dell, P&G, Shell and Universal. The agency was recently named Global Agency of the Year at the 2016 M&M Awards, an accolade it has been awarded 6 times in the past 8 years.

MediaCom is a member of WPP, and part of GroupM, WPP's consolidated media investment management arm.

GroupM is a global media investment management company serving as the parent to WPP media agencies including Mindshare, MEC, MediaCom, Maxus, and Essence and Motivator in India, as well as the programmatic digital media platform, Xaxis, each a global operation in its own right. GroupM's primary purpose is to maximise the performance of WPP's media agencies by operating as leader and collaborator in trading, content creation, sports, digital, finance, and proprietary tool development. GroupM's focus is to deliver marketplace advantage to its clients, stakeholders and people, as it is increasingly working closely for the benefit of clients with WPP's data investment management group, Kantar. Together GroupM and Kantar account for over 50 per cent of WPP's group revenues of more than $20 billion.

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