New Delhi: Sandeep Goyal, founder and former chairman of Dentsu India, is all set to return to advertising as soon as his five-year non-compete clause with Dentsu ends by this year end. It seems Goyal is currently in talks with various creative and media agencies for acquisition opportunities. He is also likely to float his own venture with primary focus on mobile advertising, they said.
“We have heard that he is also in talks with Rediffusion and may pick up a stake in the agency where he once had a very successful stint,” said one top industry source. However Goyal is tight lipped on this news as he declined to comment.
Goyal had sold his 26% stake in Dentsu India to its Japanese parent in 2011, bringing an end to his 25-year advertising career. A five-year non-compete clause stopped him from venturing into the advertising business on his own. So, when he set up Mogae Digital and Mogae Media in 2012, he positioned them as “mobile creative” businesses.
Sources said the total investment in setting up Dentsu in 2003 was around Rs 10 crore, of which Goyal had put in Rs 3 crore at his personal capacity. “When we first got to know that he has sold his stake forRs 250-300 crore it seemed like an unreal number.
But now it makes sense as Dentsu Inc put the man out of job for five years,” the head of an advertising agency said on condition of anonymity.
In 2003, Dentsu Inc was looking for a partner to establish a joint venture in India and Goyal helped the Japanese agency build the business in the country. He got the first client, Toyota, and in the first year itself the agency clocked in a billing of Rs 200 crore.
By the end of the third year it was Rs 500 crore. By 2011 when Goyal exited the agency’s business had increased to Rs 1,200 crore. An MBA from the Faculty of Management Studies of Delhi University, Goyal started his career with Goodlass Nerolac Paints in 1984. His advertising career started in 1986 with HTA (now JWT). He also worked with Trikaya Grey.
A former president of Rediffusion DY&R, he was also group CEO of Zee Telefilms from 2001 to 2003.
