Mumbai: COMvergence has unveiled its much-anticipated Global Marcom Agency Acquisitions Benchmarking Study 2024, a comprehensive analysis that maps the evolving landscape of marketing and communications (marcom) agency mergers and acquisitions from 2016 through 2024. The report captures strategic activity across the world’s largest marketing holding companies, management consultancies, and emerging independents, highlighting key trends that have shaped the industry over the past nine years.
Since 2016, COMvergence has recorded 786 agency acquisitions, with 52 deals in 2024 alone, indicating a slowdown in activity that aligns with pre-pandemic levels and confirming a market deceleration anticipated in 2023. This comes in stark contrast to the post-COVID rebound years of 2021 and 2022, which saw heightened M&A activity.
Key Findings from 2024:
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Total Acquisitions: 52 (comparable to 2019’s volume)
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Total Staff Acquired: 13,324 employees
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Average Headcount per Acquisition: 833 (slightly down from 868 in 2023)
Among the standout players:
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Accenture maintained its strategic push into digital transformation with notable acquisitions like Navisite (cloud consulting) and Logic (retail tech), adding over 1,500 employees across North America and EMEA.
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Publicis Groupe, with 7 acquisitions, continued its global expansion, particularly in digital commerce and media. Its acquisition of Mars United Commerce bolstered its position in connected commerce.
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Stagwell Global led the pack in volume, completing 10 acquisitions across media, analytics, and digital intelligence—though it emphasized revenue efficiency with a total acquired impact of $141M.
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Havas remained focused on localized growth through targeted acquisitions such as Liquid (e-commerce) and Hotglue (media).
Meanwhile, other major holding companies showed reduced M&A activity:
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IPG and Omnicom completed two deals each, including acquisitions of Intelligence Node, LeapPoint, and Coffee & TV.
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WPP acquired New Commercial Arts (NCA), reinforcing its creative strength.
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Dentsu, historically dominant in M&A with 111 deals since 2016, recorded only one acquisition in 2024—Mitsue-Links in Japan.
Regional Insights:
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North America remains the epicenter for acquisition value and talent, accounting for nearly 59% of global M&A revenue.
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EMEA leads in volume with smaller-scale, strategic acquisitions.
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APAC demonstrates strong future potential, particularly in India, China, and Japan.
The United States continues to dominate, with 25% of global deals and over half of total revenue. Other key markets include the UK, Germany, France, Australia, and increasingly, India and Brazil.
E-Commerce & Digital Acceleration:
The e-commerce sector has surged post-2021, with players like Publicis, WPP, Omnicom, and Accenture aggressively scaling up capabilities:
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Flywheel Digital (Omnicom) added 2,570 employees in 2023.
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Accenture’s five deals in 2023–2024 added 940 employees, reaffirming its focus on digital commerce and consulting.
Consultancy-Led Acquisitions:
Consultancies have accounted for 24% of all M&A since 2016, with Accenture leading the charge, followed by Deloitte, PwC, and Capgemini. These firms are reshaping the marcom space by acquiring digital, data, and media-focused agencies to create full-service marketing ecosystems.
Spotlight on India:
India has emerged as a critical hub for digital transformation and scalable talent. Since 2016:
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Dentsu led with 7 acquisitions and over 3,600 employees.
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Havas followed with six deals focused on creative and full-service digital.
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Accenture, WPP, Omnicom, and IPG made larger, high-impact acquisitions like Imaginea, Areteans, and Kinnect, reflecting India’s strategic value as a global delivery and innovation center.
The COMvergence study offers deep insight into shifting priorities, with digital transformation, e-commerce, and talent scalability emerging as dominant themes. As the industry recalibrates post-pandemic, M&A strategies are becoming more targeted, value-driven, and innovation-led—paving the way for a more integrated, agile, and globally connected marcom future.
