Tag: Acquisition

Manila, Philippines – The Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) company has clarified that its proposed acquisition of the broadband business of Sky Cable has yet to be approved by the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC).

This comes after multiple media reports stated that the PCC has approved PLDT’s acquisition of Sky Cable for PHP6.75b.

In a recent stock filing by PLDT, the company clarified that PCC has yet to conclude its review process of the proposed merger.

“Once the approval of the PCC is obtained, the sellers will continue to work on the other closing conditions which include, among others, the termination or cessation of Sky’s pay TV and cable businesses, obtaining all other applicable government approvals and clearances, and obtaining all required consents and corporate actions,” PLDT said.

Moreover, the company said that obtaining the closing conditions for the acquisition is necessary for the implementation of the proposed transaction.

Details about the merger first came into light when ABS-CBN, the parent company of Sky Cable, signed an agreement with PLDT back in March 2023 to sell off fully the business to PLDT.

“The proceeds from the sale of the shares of ABS-CBN and the settlement of Sky Vision’s obligations to ABS-CBN will be used by ABS-CBN to settle and fund its retirement obligations. The sale of the company’s ownership in Sky will also allow ABS-CBN to focus its resources on content creation,” ABS-CBN back then.

It is also worth noting that Cignal, the media firm under PLDT’s MediaQuest affiliate, had already a 34.99% stake in Sky Cable, which materialised back in 2022.

Jakarta, Indonesia – M&C Saatchi Indonesia, which has been set up previously as a joint venture by M&C Saatchi as well as with Anish Daryani, Dami Sidharta and Elki Hendria; has been officially acquired by Daryani after buying 55% of the local entity’s business equity for an undisclosed amount. With this, M&C Saatchi Indonesia is set to exit the group company and reorganise as an independent entity.

Cofounding partners Dami Sidharta, chief creative officer, and Elki Hendria, executive strategy and digital director, will continue to remain shareholders in the business, and an integral part of the leadership team.

Following the exit, Daryani stated that M&C Saatchi Indonesia will be rebranded to a new entity in January 2024. There will be complete continuity of business with all clients, talent, partners and vendors under the new entity. Moreover, the new entity will operate the business from the same premises in Menara Sentraya, Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia.

It is worth mentioning that as the Indonesia creative, digital, PR and activation business goes independent, M&C Saatchi Performance, however, will continue to operate in Indonesia under a separate legal entity.

“It has been a mutually rewarding partnership over the last 6 years. During this time, there was a symbiotic relationship between the Indonesia entity and the Group. Indonesia contributed wholeheartedly to the Group’s ambitions with respect to driving growth, profits and recognition for the M&C Saatchi brand. However, with the local management’s ambitions of taking the Indonesia business independent, a joint decision was reached to sell the Group’s interest in the business to Anish Daryani,” the partners have stated in a joint statement.

Meanwhile, Daryani commented, “M&C Saatchi is one of the strongest brands in the business, and it has been my life’s honour to serve the group over the last 6 years. We started M&C Saatchi Indonesia with just the three of us (with Dami and Elki), and have grown to a team of hundred. We’ve earned many Agency of the Year titles over the years, among other awards including our first Cannes Lion, attracted the best talent, and built a formidable business. Here, I have learnt immensely, and forged strong bonds with friends I made the world over from across the network.”

He added, “However, as a creative entrepreneur, some of my ambitions can only be met as an independent entity, which regretfully involves my exit from the group. I’m grateful for all the good times we have shared together, and for Zillah’s keenness to agree to a deal that helps me race towards meeting my ambitions. For M&C Saatchi Group, I will continue to be a reliable friend. As we take our second first step, we wish to continue serving our clients with the same level of passion and integrity, and setting higher benchmarks in the industry.”

Zillah Bing-Thorne, CEO of M&C Saatchi Group and chair of M&C Saatchi Plc., said, “We have enjoyed our relationship with Anish and wish him & colleagues all the very best for their new venture.”

Singapore – The Singaporean arm of multinational advertising and public relations company Publicis Groupe has recently announced the acquisition of Singaporean integrated communications agency AKA Asia.

The acquisition marks a significant step in expanding and diversifying Publicis Groupe’s capabilities in the Southeast Asian market, with AKA Asia bolstering the group’s strategic communications, PR and influence offering in the region.

Speaking on the acquisition, Amrita Randhawa, chief executive officer for Publicis Groupe Singapore and Southeast Asia, said, “We are thrilled to announce the acquisition of AKA Asia, which has a stellar reputation in Singapore and will complement our existing agency capabilities to deliver exceptional solutions for our clients.”

“The AKA founders, Kate O’Shea and Amy Wright, have built an incredible operation with a solid track record for conceptualising and delivering fearless creative communications campaigns to a broad range of consumer and corporate clients. We are excited to welcome them and the team into our family,” she added.

Meanwhile, Leya Teo, CEO of AKA Asia, also commented, “This is an exciting time for our agency, our growing team and our clients. Together we have worked tirelessly to build an agency dedicated to putting its people first, empowering them to deliver innovative work that’s fearlessly creative and anchored in an earned-first approach. We look forward to leveraging Publicis’s Power of One philosophy and its diverse ecosystem for clients across Asia, and the opportunities this provides our talented team.”

AKA Asia will also be joining Publicis Groupe’s regional Influence practice, led by Margaret Key, alongside full-service PR consultancy MSL Asia Pacific.

“We are both excited and proud to partner with AKA Asia. Kate and Amy have built an enviable workplace culture, evidenced by talent they have nurtured from within over the last 15 years. This union will enable us to offer more value to our clients in Singapore and across our global network”, mentioned Margaret Key, chief executive officer at MSL Asia Pacific.

Singapore – Customer service software company Zendesk has announced it has signed a definitive agreement to officially acquire AI-powered quality management platform Klaus as part of its commitment to future-proofing its AI-powered customer experience.

The acquisition is expected to provide the company with new and transformative quality management capabilities that can increase efficiency and customer loyalty.

As QA software, Klaus’ AI scores 100 percent of customer support satisfaction. Its platform can precisely identify positive and negative sentiments, outliers, churn risk, escalations, and follow-ups across all conversations, including those from outsourced teams.

Furthermore, its AI software can also spot knowledge gaps and coaching opportunities that can be utilised to improve agent performance and productivity, resulting in higher customer satisfaction.

Klaus will also be the latest addition to Zendesk’s existing workforce engagement management (WEM) solutions.

With Klaus, Zendesk customers will be able to power their everyday customer interaction with a more consistent, high-quality service across every channel and across both humans and digital agents or bots.

Commenting on the acquisition, Martin Kõiva, CEO and founder of Klaus, shared, “Zendesk and Klaus share a vision of AI-led, personalised CX with businesses fully anticipating and acting on their customers’ needs. QA software plays a critical role in this, ensuring consistency, assessing both human and digital agent performance, and providing actionable insights for strategic planning. As part of Zendesk, we will continue to build and deliver these crucial capabilities, but now at an even greater scale.”

Adrian McDermott, chief technology officer at Zendesk, also added, “As AI drives up the speed and frequency of customer engagement, only AI-powered quality assurance (QA) can keep up as companies work to identify and fix gaps in their customer service operations. The combination of Zendesk AI and Klaus’ capabilities will help businesses navigate greater complexity and volume and ensure both digital and human agents deliver highly personal and empathetic service.”

Zendesk’s acquisition of Klaus is expected to be finished by the first quarter of 2024, upon receipt of required regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Malaysian aviation and travel services group and parent company of AirAsia, Capital A, has recently announced that it has entered into a non-binding letter of offer with AirAsia X Berhad (AAX) for the proposed disposal of its aviation businesses, which makes up AirAsia Berhad (AirAsia Malaysia) and AirAsia Aviation Group Limited (AirAsia subsidiaries in Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, and Cambodia).

The strategic move is aimed at streamlining the group and facilitating a business-centric valuation of the separate entities, potentially unlocking greater value to shareholders, and aiming to create a pure play entity that aligns with market preferences. 

In a press release, AirAsia stated that it is confident that by separating the aviation business from Capital A, the non-aviation businesses within the group, which we feel are currently undervalued by the market, will also be recognised for their intrinsic value and potential. 

Capital A’s companies, including Teleport (logistics), Capital A Aviation Services (MRO and Inflight), and MOVE digital, will also be raising capital, offering shareholders an uplift on their Capital A shares, complemented by shares in the enlarged aviation group under proposed shares distribution. 

Following the sale of the aviation business, Capital A shareholders will become shareholders of the two listed companies.

With the completion of the aviation disposal, Capital A is committed to presenting a comprehensive PN17 regularisation plan by June 2024. Furthermore, Capital A is dedicated to transparent communication and will provide all stakeholders with detailed information throughout this process.

Regarding this, Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A, said, “All businesses across Capital A have been thriving and we are ready to grow. We need to raise funds for business expansion, but gaining access to capital has been challenging due to Capital A’s Practice Note 17 (PN17) status. We have been engaging committed investors who have expressed a strong preference for a pure aviation play.”

Talking about the disposal, Fernandes mentioned, “To address this and to ensure a robust financial injection, we are strategically pursuing the sale of the aviation business to AAX to create an aviation pure play, consolidating both long and short-haul airlines under the AirAsia brand, subject to the negotiation of a definitive share sale and purchase agreement and its completion.”

“Following the disposal, the aviation business is poised to benefit from focused management and a well-defined strategic direction, which will boost the aviation business’s capacity to seize growth opportunities, expand market share, and ultimately achieve enhanced profitability,” he added.

Singapore – Havas has recently announced the acquisition of Klareco Communications, Singapore homegrown agency and Southeast Asian corporate, financial and strategic communications consultancy, to strengthen its global strategic communications advisory arm, H/Advisors, in Asia-Pacific.

This acquisition allows Singapore to become a critical base for H/Advisors to steer its international clients through this macroeconomic environment, and will also strengthen Havas’ presence in Singapore through its integrated Village approach.

With a power base in Southeast Asia, the addition of Klareco Communications represents an important next step in H/Advisors’ strategic growth plan. On closing, the agency will be renamed H/Advisors Klareco.

This addition represents another significant milestone, following the successful launch of H/Advisors in Dubai earlier this year and the recent acquisitions of Australian Public Affairs, one of Australia’s most prominent and successful public affairs agencies, and Cunha Vaz & Associados, Portugal’s leading PR and communications consultancy.

H/Advisors Klareco and its senior management team will take on a significant role within the strategic advisory network. The local leadership includes CEO and co-founder Ang Shih-Huei, and managing director and co-founder Mark Worthington who will join the Asia board to help direct and lead the expansion of H/Advisors in Asia-Pacific.

Speaking on the acquisition, Yannick Bolloré, chairman and global CEO, Havas, and chairman, Vivendi, said, “Our partnership with Klareco allows us to draw on their breadth of experience and knowledge of the Asian market as we continue to expand our Havas presence in APAC. We are delighted to welcome the well-respected Klareco team onboard and look forward to achieving great things together.”

Shih-Huei added, “As an independent firm, we have already been working with some of the largest MNCs and leading Asian headquartered companies. H/Advisors allows us to deepen our core communications offering across corporate, financial, digital and public affairs, and expand our expertise in fast growing areas such as sustainability and change communications, to ensure we continue to deliver best practice for our clients. Our teams are excited for this new chapter ahead.”

Worthington also mentioned, “We are delighted to partner with H/Advisors to enhance our standing as a landing point for international firms coming to, or expanding in Asia. Increasingly, boards and management face complex communications challenges as they expand internationally. We are excited to build on our offering to support these challenges, ensuring we have expertise and relationships in the markets our clients need.”

Meanwhile, Stéphane Fouks, executive chairman, H/Advisors, and vice president, Havas, commented, “2023 has been an outstanding year of growth for H/Advisors, with the opening of our Dubai office and the acquisitions of CV&A (Portugal) & APA (Australia) and now our partnership with Klareco, which will strengthen our offering not only in APAC but globally. Klareco is the leading communications advisory in Southeast Asia, and we are delighted to welcome Shih-Huei, Mark and the talent and experience they will bring to H/Advisors.”

Bangkok, Thailand – In pursuit of advancing creativity and personalised digital interactions, Accenture has announced the acquisition of Rabbit’s Tale, a creative and digital experience agency based in Bangkok. This move signifies the inaugural presence across the entire customer lifecycle, specifically the growth in Thailand. 

Through this acquisition, Rabbit’s Tale brings forth a comprehensive portfolio encompassing impactful brand strategies, digital content, and data-driven experiences.

Said initiative integrates digital customer experience solutions, spanning from retail experiences to customer relationship management and loyalty programmes, hyper-personalised marketing to experience designs, and digital platform development.

As it is distinguished among Thailand’s leading advertising agencies, it will also harness the increasing significance of digital ad spending for brand differentiation and customer connection.

In particular, the two are poised to enhance regional creative, brand, and data capabilities for Accenture Song, with the shared goal of assisting clients in constructing and optimising digital experiences, driving growth in Thailand.

Talking about the project, Thomas Mouritzen, Southeast Asia lead at Accenture Song, said, “Consumer and employee expectations have drastically changed, leading businesses to seek partners with the scale and skills for delivering unique yet powerful engagement and connections. They are also looking for creative solutions and transformative programmes to advance growth.”

“Rabbit’s Tale will add more firepower to Accenture Song’s regional market excellence and business strategy, leveraging data, innovation, and creativity. This reaffirms our unwavering investment and commitment in Southeast Asia, enhancing our offerings, capabilities, and talent base to help clients achieve tangible outcomes in their brand, marketing, and experience transformation journeys,” he added.

Meanwhile, Patama Chantaruck, country managing director, Thailand at Accenture, commented, “This acquisition will help Accenture empower local businesses and nurture homegrown talent to create meaningful and highly personalised digital experiences that cater to the unique needs and preferences of the local market. Technology, when integrated with creativity, can significantly enhance how businesses interact with their customers and people, driving differentiation and fostering greater customer satisfaction and loyalty.

“Rabbit’s Tale’s talent and expertise will strengthen our positioning to help grow Thailand’s private sector with unparalleled solutions to some of its most complex challenges. Our combined talent and expertise will propel Thailand as a thriving hub of technological advancement and digital innovation in the region,” she concluded.

Following this milestone, Sunard Thanasanaksorn, CEO at Rabbit’s Tale, also said, “To combine unconventional creativity and breakthrough technology to solve our clients’ problems has always been our aspiration. We are thrilled that our next chapter of growth will be with Accenture Song, where its industry-leading position and creativity-led approach backed by data and technology have helped businesses across industries set new benchmarks.” 

Established in 2010, the Rabbit’s Tale team is set to work together with Accenture Song in Thailand, leveraging the agency’s world-class strategy, design, performance, technology, and large-scale operations capabilities.

Notably, this also marks the third acquisition by Accenture Song in Southeast Asia after Romp and Entropia.

Jakarta, Indonesia – Citi has announced that it has completed the sale of its Indonesian consumer banking business to UOB, effective November 20 this year. The sale includes retail banking, credit card, and unsecured lending businesses, as well as the transfer of employees.

This is the latest completed deal by UOB after it entered into an agreement with Citi January 2022 as part of a broader sale agreement covering consumer banking across Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Sales in Malaysia and Thailand were completed on November 1, 2022, and the sale in Vietnam was completed on March 1, 2023.

The sale excludes the bank’s institutional businesses, and Citi remains focused on serving institutional clients in Indonesia locally, regionally and globally.

Batara Sianturi, country officer for Indonesia at Citi, said, “Citi is proud to have a long history in Indonesia, and we are intently focused on growing Citi’s institutional businesses in Indonesia, serving clients in the market, regionally and globally through our network to support cross-border needs.”

Meanwhile, Titi Cole, head of legacy franchises at Citi, commented, “Completing our final divestiture of a full consumer franchise in Asia marks a significant milestone in simplifying the firm. This is a testament to the commitment of our employees across these markets and a clear demonstration of Citi’s ability to execute on our strategy. We are sincerely grateful to our former employees in Indonesia and wish them the very best in their careers with UOB.”

Since announcing its intention to exit consumer banking across 14 markets in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Mexico as part of its strategic refresh, Citi has now closed sales in nine of those markets including Australia, Bahrain, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, in addition to Indonesia.

India – Havas has announced the acquisition of Indian consultancy firm PR Pundit, marking the debut of Havas’ public relations arm Red Havas in the Indian market. On closing, the firm will be rebranded as PR Pundit Havas Red. 

Archana Jain, founder and managing director at PR Pundit, will continue to lead PR Pundit Havas Red, and will be reporting to Rana Barua, group CEO of Havas India and James Wright, global CEO of Havas Red.

PR Pundit has been a valued affiliate of Havas in India for some time. This acquisition cements the association and enhances Havas’ capabilities to extend public relations services in India as part of its bouquet of creative, media and healthcare offerings. 

In parallel, Havas Red’s continued international expansion adds important new expertise and geographic reach to the network’s global clients. The entry in the Indian market is the network’s second addition in 2023, following the opening of Havas Red South Africa earlier in the year.

Speaking of the acquisition, Jain said, “Joining Havas will enable us to enrich our services and geographic reach for the benefit of our clients. We are excited to lend our expertise and entrepreneurial drive as well as share our local PR understanding with Havas Red in our common goal of undertaking benchmarking work and fostering long term partnerships, with our people and clients. Our relationship is based on shared values to elevate service capabilities, open doors to new opportunities and embrace best practices from around the world.”

Meanwhile, Barua commented, This acquisition once again reinforces our commitment of delivering comprehensive and impactful solutions to our clients. In our endeavour to offer integrated end-to-end communication solutions, we identified that the PR function was a missing piece.”

She added, “This acquisition brings together, two extremely powerful entities, Havas Red which has presence across 15 global markets with unmatched influence and reach, and PR Pundit, one of the most respected PR agencies in India with unparalleled brand reputation and a robust clientele. I welcome team PR Pundit to the Havas India family. Together with Havas Red, I look forward to the beginning of an exciting journey.”  

Lastly, Yannick Bolloré, chairman and global CEO at Havas, commented, “We are thrilled to welcome PR Pundit to the Havas family. The synergies between PR Pundit’s expertise, Havas India’s clients, and the global PR clients of Havas Red are exceptionally strong, setting the stage for many meaningful collaborations.”

He added, “With the backing of Vivendi and their extensive entertainment assets in India, the expansion into PR, communications and social media is a strategic move that aligns perfectly with the evolving landscape of the market and industry.”

Singapore – SPH Media has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire technology media company Tech in Asia (TIA). Through the proposed acquisition, TIA will strengthen the technology media offering of SPH Media, more specifically for its long-time business publication The Business Times (BT).

Moreover, the proposed acquisition will deepen the value BT brings to businesses and readers in the region, and accelerate its goal of becoming a regional player for business and tech news, and events. In the longer term, it will also support SPH Media’s broader transformation efforts.

For SPH, TIA’s commitment to high-quality content and events, is well aligned with BT’s vision of becoming the leading business title in APAC, and this acquisition will help both TIA and BT bring more value to their audiences.

Wong Wei Kong, editor-in-chief, English/Malay/Tamil Media Group at SPH Media, said, “By coming together with their strengths and capabilities, BT and TIA present an exciting business proposition in Asia, centred on good journalism. For SPH Media, this acquisition is a strategic move that will enable us to provide our readers with a more comprehensive suite of products and services.”

Meanwhile, Willis Wee, CEO and founder of Tech in Asia, commented, “We are committed to delivering top-notch content and events, and with SPH Media by our side, we are poised to achieve even greater heights. We are enthusiastic about the opportunities this acquisition will bring. Rest assured, our startup spirit and data-driven approach will remain at the core of our competencies post-M&A.”

In a public letter posted by Wee, he assured its readers that they will still retain its editorial independence following the proposed merger, adding that they will continue to build and serve the tech and startup community in Asia.