Dentsu Aegis Network acquires majority stake in WATConsult

Dentsu Aegis Network has announced that it has acquired majority stake of WATConsult, a social and digital media agency.

 

Founded in 2007, WATConsult has a 160 member team across its offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata. WATConsult will become part of Isobar, Dentsu Aegis Network’s global digital marketing agency and will be referred to as 'WATConsult – Linked by Isobar'.

 

Rajiv Dingra will continue as CEO of the agency and will report to Ashish Bhasin, chairman and CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network South Asia. The management team, including Nipun Kapur, COO of WATConsult and Heeru Dingra, CFO of WATConsult, will also continue in their respective roles. Dingra will also join the digital council of Dentsu Aegis Network India, alongside the CEO’s of Isobar, iProspect and WebChutney. Digital specialists at Dentsu Aegis Network in India will now exceed 600 professionals.

 

Nick Waters, CEO Dentsu Aegis Network Asia Pacific, said, “The acquisition of WATConsult marks another significant step for our group in India. This is a high quality award winning market leader specialising in one of the fastest growing and critical segments of the market.  Alongside Isobar, iProspect, and WebChutney we have created the largest and highest quality digital services capability in India. We view India as a priority market and will continue to seek scaled and quality investment opportunities here.”

 

Bhasin said, “Having WATConsult, a leader in social media, as a member of our family will further enhance our digital offering to our clients and support our growth in the market. WATConsult, will join iProspect, Isobar and Webchutney in making our digital offering the most comprehensive in India.”

 

Dingra, added, “We are delighted to join hands with Dentsu Aegis Network, and our entire team are looking forward to taking WATConsult – Linked by Isobar to even greater heights. We are confident that by becoming a part of a digital focused network like Dentsu Aegis Network we will gain a competitive advantage in the fast consolidating Indian market. As an agency we see huge growth opportunity in digital advertising, particularly social media, digital video and mobile, and we are geared to capitalising on it.”