New York, USA – Global media and marketing holdings company Omnicom has announced that it has agreed to acquire Flywheel, the digital commerce business of Ascential, for US$835m. It should be recalled that Ascential recently integrated its 10 digital commerce sister brands to form Flywheel.

The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024 and is subject to Ascential shareholder approval, regulatory approvals, and customary closing conditions.

Moreover, Flywheel will operate as a practice area within Omnicom and will be led by Duncan Painter, who currently serves as CEO of Ascential.

“By connecting Flywheel Commerce Cloud’s product and transaction data with Omni’s audience and behavioural data, we are poised to offer an end-to-end set of services that outpaces the competition. We aim to empower our clients to automate, optimize, and measure their digital commerce and media spend within an increasingly complex marketplace,” Painter said.

Currently, Flywheel’s services enable top brands to sell more goods across hundreds of digital marketplaces, such as Amazon, Walmart, and Alibaba.

With a workforce of more than 2,000 professionals, Flywheel provides services in retail commerce operations, media execution, and market intelligence to over 4500 brands. These services are reinforced by their advanced technology platform, Flywheel Commerce Cloud, which delivers near real-time insights to improve decision-making and boost sales.

Meanwhile, John Wren, chairman and CEO of Omnicom said, “E-commerce sales worldwide are set to increase by 50%, reaching about $7 trillion dollars by 2025. The acquisition of Flywheel significantly broadens our reach and influence in the rapidly expanding digital commerce and retail media sectors, two of the fastest-growing parts of the industry. Together, we will seamlessly integrate our offerings across retail and brand media, digital and in-store commerce, and CRM, ultimately delivering superior results for our clients.”

Singapore – Southeast Asian digital solution partner Intrepid has recently announced its integration with its 10 Ascential digital commerce sister brands and rebranding to form a single, global brand known as Flywheel.

This integration marks a significant brand transformation and underscores Flywheel’s commitment to evolving with the dynamic digital commerce landscape, promising sustainable growth in the world’s vast and complex digital marketplaces.

Through the integration, Flywheel incorporates the unique capabilities of 11 brands, which were all under the Ascential Digital Commerce umbrella, allowing for comprehensive services ranging from media and retail, managed and self-service to consulting and retail insights.

Furthermore, this combination of companies also amplifies Flywheel’s client list, with clients carrying over from previous brands, notably having over half of 2022’s top 100 publicly listed companies by revenue.

As an integrated brand, Flywheel offerings include AI-powered ad optimization to ensure maximum reach and conversion, advanced analytics and machine learning provide clarity on market trends, as well as automation and bespoke consulting to help brands navigate the intricate media landscape.

Jasper Knoben, chief executive officer of Flywheel SEA, said, “I am excited for this next chapter as we become Flywheel. This evolution will allow us to tap into our global network, expertise and technology much more effectively, allowing us to accelerate partnerships and bring more sophisticated technology and a wider range of services and capabilities to South East Asia, to deliver even better outcomes and offer more competitive advantages for our clients.”

Meanwhile, Duncan Painter, chief executive of Flywheel, commented, “The retail world is fiendishly complex and ever changing. But the goal of each brand remains the same – to use all the available data and the best technology to drive sales and scale profitably. Today we enter a new chapter. With our unique capabilities and expertise, close marketplace partnerships, and unrivalled data sets, the new Flywheel empowers brands to not just adapt but thrive in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.”

Singapore – Global business-to-business media company Ascential has acquired regional e-commerce and digital solutions provider Intrepid. This drives Ascential’s expansion, further establishing the company as a truly global leader in e-commerce optimization by providing a strategic entry point into the high-growth South-East Asian market.

For Intrepid, the acquisition will provide access to a wider network of resources and knowledge, which will allow it to cement its position as a technology leader in South-East Asia, further accelerating its growth.

In addition, Intrepid will become part of Ascential’s Digital Commerce division, which enables consumer product companies to maximise their sales, share, and profitability across the world’s leading consumer marketplaces.

Duncan Painter, CEO of Ascential, said, “We are delighted to welcome Intrepid to the Ascential team. Intrepid’s strong presence in South East Asia and proven expertise operating across the major marketplaces in this important region further enhances the capabilities and global reach of our Digital Commerce business.”

Meanwhile, Jasper Knoben, CEO of Intrepid, said that the acquisition is a natural strategic fit for the continued success of both Intrepid and Ascential. 

“Our vision, strategy and cultures are very well aligned and we look forward to working closely with the Ascential team. Joining Ascential offers Intrepid a strong platform for future growth, full of exciting opportunities to accelerate our business and leverage global best practices for our analytics and marketing technology to deliver truly cutting-edge service and tools for our clients across our e-commerce, marketing and insights business units,” Knoben commented.