Sir Martin Sorrell’s firm S4 Capital has today (December 4) announced its agreement to acquire San Francisco-based programmatic marketing agency MightyHive for a reported for a reported $150 million (£117 million) deal, with an anticipated closing date as soon as practicable.
MightyHive is currently valued at up to $200 million, according to Financial Times, and it claims to be one of the largest and fastest-growing programmatic buyers in the world.
The merger will enable MightyHive to meet the rapidly growing demand from clients and expand the opportunities the agency can offer. In a statement, MightyHive said, “We are particularly excited about the impact this news will have on the global brands and agencies we serve and are pleased to communicate the facts below.”
S4 said that the transaction “is in line with the company’s stated strategy of creating a new era, new media solution embracing data, content and technology in an always-on environment for global, multi-national, regional and local clients and for millennial-driven digital brands.”
“The merger with MightyHive marks an important second strategic step for S4 Capital,” said Sir Martin Sorrell on his second acquisition since leaving WPP following an investigation into allegations of personal misconduct.
“The peanut has now morphed into a coconut, and is growing and ripening,” he continued.
Following the merger, MightyHive will become a wholly owned subsidiary of S4 Capital. Pete Kim, MightyHive CEO and co-founder, and Christopher Martin, MightyHive COO and co-founder, will join the S4 Capital board of directors while also remaining in their roles running the day-to-day operations of MightyHive.
Earlier this year saw S4 Capital pay $350 million to acquire digital production agency MediaMonks after a bidding battle between S4 and WPP. Last month, MediaMonks expanded in the US with the opening of its new San Francisco office.
In response to the news, WING’s creative director Will Ingham said that the latest acquisition from S4 Capital is an initial reaction to brands seeking for a high quality creative, delivered in an “agile and speedy manner”.
“To quote Sorrell himself after he left WPP, the new agency model should be “more agile, more responsive [and] less layered” than traditional advertising businesses, and should offer a magic mix of tech, data and content,” said Ingham.