Singapore – Global advertising holding company WPP has announced yet another merger, as it announced the merger of communications agencies Hill+Knowlton and BCW to create Burson, aimed at becoming a full-service communications agency focused on building and protecting reputation.

The new merger comes on the back of yet another merger between VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson to create VML.

Corey duBrowa, currently global CEO of BCW, has been named global CEO of Burson and AnnaMaria DeSalva, currently, global chairman and CEO of Hill & Knowlton, has been named global chairman of Burson

Together, they will oversee agency strategy, client service, employee experience and culture. Burson will be operational from 1 July 2024, and its new brand will be unveiled later this year.

According to WPP, this union of agencies will enable Burson to best serve clients in a complex and volatile environment in which strategic stakeholder communications has never been more critical. 

Moreover, WPP notes that the new agency will draw on both organisations’ unrivaled talent base, exceptional global networks, investments in technology, creative capabilities, and public affairs and advisory specialities to drive reputation and value creation through the interdisciplinary solutions that clients demand.

Speaking on the merger, duBrowa said, “Harold Burson believed strongly that actions are stronger than words, and he established honesty, transparency, integrity and excellence as the guiding principles of his business. Those principles are the foundational ideals of Burson, upon which we will set the bar for modern communications through our AI-first innovation pipeline..”

He added, “Together as Burson, we will bring insights, expert strategic counsel and technology solutions into a higher value offering for our clients to help them innovate and lead in today’s complex operating environment.”

Meanwhile, DeSalva commented, “The combination of Hill & Knowlton and BCW is highly synergistic, creating a premier partner for business leaders who are focused on commercial growth, risk management, and reputational capital. Our body of work increasingly demonstrates that strategic communication, elevated by creativity, is a primary force for sustainable value creation.”

She added, “By accelerating our transformation through this combination, we will enable the investments in talent and technology that advance communications leadership when it has never mattered more.”

Burson’s leadership team will comprise a cohort of top-tier former chief communications officers and other experienced agency senior executives from both companies who bring deep expertise and knowledge of what business leaders need to succeed. Appointments will be announced throughout 2024 as the integration progresses.

In addition, GCI Health and AxiCom will continue to operate as brands within Burson, offering specialised healthcare and technology communications expertise, respectively, at scale.

Mark Read, CEO of WPP, stated, “Hill & Knowlton and BCW are two high-performing businesses with complementary strengths, shared ambitions and many shared clients. I am delighted to see the Burson brand brought back to unite them. The new agency will be the standard bearer as the most modern, strategic, technology-driven, full-service communications offer in the industry.”

Manila, Philippines – The merger between the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and Robinsons Bank has officially been approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines, and officially took effect on 1 January. Through this merger, BPI will be the existing entity.

It is worth noting that the country’s Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) first approved the merger in September 2023. Then the country’s central bank (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) approved the merger on December 2023.

“The proposed merger will unlock various synergies across several products and service platforms, expand the customer and deposit base of both banks through the merged entity, and, at the same time, by capitalizing on BPI’s expertise and network, enhance the overall banking experience of RBC customers,” the parties stated in their stock filing for the merger.

It is also worth noting that BPI will now have indirect control with Legazpi Savings Bank, accounting for a 99.93% stake control. BPI is also an indirect owner of GoTyme Bank (18%) and Unicon Insurance Brokers Corp. (17.13%).

BPI has also stated that it will be able to expand its client base, accelerate growth, and ultimately increase shareholder value through partnerships with the Gokongwei Group.

The announcement adds to a series of proposed and completed bank mergers in the country, including the acquisition of Citi’s local consumer banking business by UnionBank, as well as the proposed merger of the country’s two state banks–LandBank and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).

After months of going back and forth with multiple regulators globally, tech giant Microsoft has finally acquired video game company Activision Blizzard for a whopping US$69b, and is considered the most expensive video game merger in history, followed by Take-Two Interactive’s acquisition of Zynga (US$12.7b) and Tencent’s acquisition of Supercell (US$8.6b).

To understand how big this merger is, Activision Blizzard has five business units under it Activision Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment, King, Major League Gaming, and Activision Blizzard Studios. These units have produced several popular titles such as Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk’s, Spyro, Skylanders, World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, Overwatch, and Candy Crush Saga.

With APAC evidently becoming a lucrative market for gaming–especially with the region ranking first in esports followers globally according to YouGov–the question is: how does this global merger impact the overall gaming market in the region, and does it stand a chance to the staple regional companies in the region like Bandai Namco and HoYoverse?

Will the merger create significant change in APAC for more opportunities?

For Tessa Conrad, head of innovation at TBWA\Asia, the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard offers a ‘fascinating development’ opportunity in Asia-Pacific, in terms of how the tech giant can convince gamers in the region to make more titles accessible to its own console brand Xbox.

“It’s a fascinating development, especially given how PlayStation still reigns supreme across APAC as the console of choice versus Microsoft’s Xbox. Knowing that APAC holds the largest number of gamers globally, this majority is significant and this shift – if it includes Xbox-exclusive content – could sway some users,” she said.

With that being said, Conrad notes that innovation in gaming has been rapid with the pace set by cloud gaming which makes it much easier to play games you want, across any device (including regular computers and phones). This then means that the change likely won’t be as monumental as many ponder, as gamers are getting more and more choice around how they want to play various games.

“Therefore, this acquisition alone is unlikely to spur too much change in the short-term and I’d liken it to content streamers like Netflix, HBO, etc – it’ll boil down to what content is brought to the table before we truly see the effects. As more people opt to game without a console, the rights to games get blurrier as publishers and parent companies are forced to determine whether to go for larger game-specific profits or to use specific games to boost ownership of hardware and/or subscription services. The likes of this have been seen through early battles of streaming providers, SmartTV evolution and the like – so it’s mostly a known evolution,” she explained.

Meanwhile, Jamie Paraso, regional vice president of marketing at Mineski, commented that the merger doesn’t only offer business opportunities for Microsoft in the region but also how they can properly diversify their gaming portfolio, given the diverse demographic in APAC.

“In business merger and acquisitions usually happen geared for growth. Growth can be in the form of market share, expansion in terms geographic location, diversification of products and of course knowledge transfer. This but shows the merger is not just valuable company wise but also opens up more opportunities for the gaming market to grow and scale,” he said.

On standing a chance against regional video game companies

In APAC, regional publishers are gaining momentum in the region with many popular titles released such as HoYoVerse’s Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Impact, as well as Bandai Namco’s Dark Souls and Elden Ring. Moreover, other game companies such as CapCom and Riot Games are also ramping its marketing efforts in the region.

For TBWA’s Conrad, it will eventually boil down to what content they are going to consider making exclusive to Xbox – and how gamers react – to make its merger successful in the region, marketing-wise.

Stating an example how PlayStation’s The Last of Us game spawned a TV series and a PC release later on, she says that while these console battles will continue, there’s a good chance that Microsoft is taking notes on which big game titles they will make it exclusive to its own hardware.

“When you take into consideration the now globally successful TV series based on the game driving more people to want to play the game – you see how the long-term console battle can evolve. I’m sure Microsoft is taking note of this and will consider some big-name games that might temporarily be available only on Microsoft-owned hardware,” she says.

Meanwhile, for Mineski’s Paraso, Microsoft will still be able to compete with regional publishers in terms of how will they market themselves to earn value to their customers.

“In a time where there is a lot of expansion and scaling of Intellectual Property and Publisher business, diversification in terms of portfolio allows not just businesses to grow but gives way to an even more crucial aspect in today’s world which is value creation within communities, whereby the real and true winners are the end consumers,” he said.

Conrad also echoes this sentiment, noting that the success of the merger in APAC boils down to what content they can create for gamers in the region.

“Is it powerful? Is it captivating? How is the value for money? Is it a play-through or a community-focused game? These considerations and many more force gaming companies to adapt around each title they release in the short-term, to build to their long-term plan,” she explains.

However, she notes that with regional publishers sprouting up in the region, mergers to much larger game companies, and that game loyalty from gamers of said titles may change depending on what merger may ensue.

“I love seeing the regional publishers cropping up as well as the indie gaming companies because competition is often the best thing for consumers (like myself). With that said, more gaming studios have been getting bought up over the last few years so I wouldn’t be surprised if some of our regional players follow suit,” Conrad said.

She added, “This can be a positive when it comes to investing more into the making of the games (and the marketing around them) – but then can quickly isolate loyalists to these smaller shops if quality/gameplay rapidly shifts. It’s a careful balance to strike and no doubt will require ever-changing adjustments based on gamer feedback.”

Are marketing opportunities for the merger unclear?

Both Conrad and Paraso have agreed that while Microsoft’s plans for the region remain unclear, there is room for marketing opportunities the industry can ride into in terms of changing their strategies towards marketing ardware releases, subscriptions and individual games.

For Paraso, the opportunity that arises will revolve around creative campaigns that challenge the industry into how they can appease to the diverse APAC gamer demographic.

“New ways of working, new creative ideas, etc. this allows the market to both be challenged creatively and strategically but more importantly allows a plethora of expanded knowledge and learning to transpose within the region. This becomes very healthy in the long term whereby the region is stimulated to produce best in class output to win the hearts of end users and consumers,” he said.

Meanwhile, Conrad said that the trends that marketers should be looking at regardless of this merger revolve around three factors: gaming often is equal to socialization, gaming subcultures have radically evolved, and cloud gaming is the future.

“It used to be that being a “gamer” was largely perceived as liking games around war, fighting, racing or the like. Nintendo has likely been one of the biggest creators in opposition to that with the likes of Super Mario and Animal Crossing – but there’s now more than ever “different” types of games and people are showcasing a much wider palate for gaming. Subcultures like cozy, sandbox, puzzle, etc are giving a much wider view of what it means to be a gamer and game creators have done well in expanding content to suit those niches,” she said.

Conrad also added, “he fact that you no longer need a console or a proper PC gaming rig to play intensive games is still relatively new but it opens the doors to a lot of more casual gamers to delve deeper into more intense content. While the catalogue for cloud gaming still leaves plenty of room for improvement – it will grow and attract more users that don’t want to pay large amounts for the latest hardware. This will force console/rig creators to drastically evolve the tech to enable gaming in a completely new realm – which is exciting.”

Singapore – The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore has stated that the proposed Grab and Trans-cab raises competition mergers following its Phase 1 review. The competition initially opened public feedback on the merger around August this year.

According to the commission, they need to review the competition effects of the proposed acquisition in greater detail.

They added that the greater amount of feedback they received from notes on concerns on the effect of Grab’s ownership of the Trans-cab fleet on Trans-cab drivers’ usage of rival ride-hail platforms, and may raise barriers to expansion and entry for Grab’s rival ride-hail platforms, given the importance of scale in the ride-hail platform industry.

“At this stage, the parties may offer commitments to address the potential competition concerns of the proposed Acquisition raised by CCCS. Otherwise, CCCS will proceed to a more in-depth phase 2 review of the proposed acquisition upon CCCS’s receipt of the relevant documents from the parties. commitments may also be offered at any time during a phase 2 review,” they stated.

Grab announced that it is acquiring Trans-cab back in July this year, stating back then that the acquisition will cover Trans-cab’s taxi and car rental business, maintenance workshop, and fuel pump operations.

Singapore – Asia based video game distributor and publisher GCL Asia has announced that it, together with its subsidiaries and affiliated companies, has entered into a definitive business combination agreement  with RF Acquisition Corp, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, and RF Dynamic LLC, resulting in GCL Asia becoming a publicly listed company.

Following the merger, GCL Asia aims to provide engaging gaming experiences across EA and SEA regions through partners and content creators, as well as expanding the gaming ecosystem by promoting Asian games worldwide and bringing Western games to Asia.

Additionally, the merged company will continue to be led by Jacky See Wee Choo, group chairman of GCL Asia, Sebastian Toke, group CEO of GCL Asia, and other key executive leadership members.

GCL Asia’s shareholders will also be retaining a majority of the combined company’s outstanding shares, and GCL Asia will designate a majority of director nominees for the combined company’s board.

Talking about the merger, Choo said, “This is an exciting time for the entire GCL Asia team as we execute our growth strategy in game publishing in Asian markets. Over the past 16 years, we have built a powerful distribution platform based on over 16 multi-year partnerships with AAA and independent game developers and publishers, reaching over 2100 retail touchpoints online and offline.”

“With the support of RF Acquisition and enhanced visibility following the NASDAQ listing, we are now ready to enter the higher-margin segments of game publishing and IP management, deepening our partnership with exceptional content providers, including game studios globally, to bring exciting new experiences to gamers,” he added.

Meanwhile, Tse Meng Ng, chairman and CEO of RF Acquisition, commented, “We are thrilled to work with Jacky and his visionary team at GCL Asia in their next chapter of growth and expansion in the dynamic Asian gaming market. We greatly respect the publishing and distribution platform and the trusted industry relationships that Jacky and his team have built over the last decade.”

“With the expansion of the business to publishing and IP management, GCL Asia can help game publishers in the U.S. and Europe navigate increasingly sophisticated Asian content and unlock the full potential of the high-growth Asian market. This is a unique opportunity for us to participate in a fast-growing, profitable company at an inflection point in its development,” he concluded. 

London, UK – Multinational creative communications company WPP has announced the merger of two of its creative agencies, Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R, to form creative company VML.

VML unites the capabilities of the two creative agencies in commerce, customer experience, and marketing technology to provide an improved set of offerings to its clients.

The creative company will be equipped to support clients on creative brand growth strategy and transformation initiatives, all powered by best-in-class data operations, technology platforms, and partnerships with various technology companies. It will also provide an exceptional offer for healthcare companies and B2B marketers.

Combining VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson’s respective client bases, functional expertise, and geographic strengths, VML will have a hold on more than 30,000 people in 64 markets.

Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R were both launched in 2018 and since then have experienced sustained growth and amassed a breadth of expertise, having worked on client development, new business, and acquisitions.

Both agencies have partnered with multiple clients across the globe, including Colgate-Palmolive, Dell, Ford, Microsoft, Nestlé, The Coca-Cola Company, and more.

With the merger, the parent company WPP also announced immediate leadership appointments, including Debbi Vandeven as global chief creative officer; Eric Campbell as global chief client officer; Juan Pablo Jurado as CEO for LATAM; Ewen Sturgeon as CEO for EMEA; and Audrey Kuah and Yi-Chung Tay to be co-CEOs for APAC.

Meanwhile, Jon Cook becomes the global CEO at VML, and Mel Edwards will take on the role of global president, with the management team bringing together strong leaders from across both companies.

Cook said, “The future of building strong brands and businesses requires the interconnectivity of brand experience, commerce, and customer experiences. We recognised the immediate opportunity to create what every consultancy and advertising agency aspires to build with the formation of VML. We’re especially excited to present our new offering to the industry, as we don’t believe there is another company as creatively awarded with our depth in customer experience and commerce.”

Also commenting on the merger, Edwards shared, “This is the right suite of capabilities, offered at just the right moment, at unprecedented scale. It’s incredibly exciting because, with this new agency, we have the chance to shape the future of modern marketing in every key market around the world. The opportunities it affords our people and the growth we can deliver for our clients at a global scale make this a real game-changer for each business and the wider industry.”

Meanwhile, Mark Read, CEO at WPP, said, “Scale matters in today’s world as AI and technology transform marketing and global clients look to simplify their relationships. VML will combine world-class creativity with deep expertise in data, marketing technology, and platforms to deliver a competitive advantage for ambitious brands. It’s another important step forward for WPP as we continue to reshape our offer for the future, simplify our business, and unlock further benefits of scale.”

“Separately, Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R are two of WPP’s strongest and best-performing agencies. Together, they will deliver an even wider, fully integrated suite of capabilities to our clients in every market. Marketers today expect seamless links between their brand advertising and technology solutions and platforms. VML provides an immediate solution to this business imperative,” he added.

Manila, Philippines – The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has officially approved the proposed merger of Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and Robinsons Bank, a commercial bank owned by local conglomerate JG Summit Holdings. Through the proposed merger, BPI will be the existing entity.

According to recent stock filings made by BPI, JG Summit Holdings, and Robinsons Retail Holdings, all received approval from the PCC from September 13 to 14.

Following this, the companies are now seeking approval from the central bank Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), as well as from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). With this, no fixed time frame for the acquisition has been announced, as it is still subject to regulatory approval.

Discussion about the proposed merger first began in September 2022 when the board of directors of the three companies involved approved the proposed merger, with grants Robinsons Bank shareholders collectively holding approximately 6% of the resulting outstanding capital stock of BPI should the merger go through.

The announcement adds to a series of proposed and completed bank mergers in the country, including the acquisition of Citi’s local consumer banking business by UnionBank, as well as the proposed merger of the country’s two state banks–LandBank and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).

Australia – To significantly expand its digital marketing capabilities and establish itself as one of the world’s most comprehensive customer acquisition and retention businesses, US and Australian marketing agency Alley Group has announced its merger with the Nunn Media-owned digital agency, Innovate Online.

The merger will add new capabilities to Alley Group such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and the skills of more than 25 Australian consultants to Alley’s talent roster. In addition, Alley Group will also offer its clients in-house traditional media planning and buying services in collaboration with parent Nunn Media.

Alley will also be given access to proprietary data planning and activation technology, Augment, and custom econometric modelling capabilities that the Nunn Media group has developed over the past six months.

The combined Alley Group is now one of the world’s most comprehensive digital agencies with a unique suite of capabilities and services that go beyond media to drive greater campaign efficiencies and ensure no marketing dollar is wasted in achieving heightened conversion.

Nick Lavidge, CEO of Alley Group says the combined Alley Group will help businesses cut marketing spend through economic headwinds without compromising conversions.

“In addition to strengthening up our full-funnel traditional and organic media services, we are excited to showcase our expanded capabilities outside media buying, such as creative optimization and site personalization that allows us to show the right ad to the right person at the right time,” he said.

Lavidge added, “Given Alley Group’s track record, team and expanded capabilities, we can confidently say we’re one of the world’s leading agencies delivering customer acquisition and retention solutions to drive attributable financial outcomes.”

Matt Nunn, group CEO of Nunn Media also remarked that integrating the businesses creates a unique global offering in the US and Australia that will be further accelerated through organic development and strategically focused acquisitions.

“Bringing Alley Group and Innovate together is a natural next step in the Nunn Media group’s mid-term strategy following our acquisitions of the two businesses. The move bolsters our position as a leading independent agency globally and ensures clients are provided the best and most effectively integrated marketing capabilities in market,” Nunn added.

The initiative follows a series of major client wins for Alley Group in the US and Australia, including software and IT solutions provider GoTo and video game publisher Bethesda Softworks.

Mumbai, India – Global creative network WPP has announced that it has acquired the remaining 26 per cent stake in MediaCom Communications in India. MediaCom in India is treated as a JV between WPP and independent communications group Madison World. Following WPP’s decision to merge Essence and MediaCom globally, top management of Madison World has agreed to exit MediaCom to enable the merger. 

The initial agreement between WPP and Madison World dates back to 2008, under which the company owned 51%. In 2017, Madison World sold 25% to WPP. The unique deal between WPP and Madison World contributed to the rapid growth that MediaCom experienced in India. 

MediaCom Communications in India had offices in Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru with a team of 165. It has done media planning and buying for a number of top brands such as Procter & Gamble and Dell.

Sam Balsara, chairman of Madison World, said, “This innovative partnership we invested in nearly 15 years ago has been a great success for all parties. It has established MediaCom in India as a fast-growing and highly respected agency by advertisers.”

Nick Lawson, Global CEO of MediaCom, commented, “It has been a pleasure working with Sam Balsara and Lara Balsara as we grew this successful business in India. We will build on that legacy to deliver the agency model our clients want for the future – founded on brilliant strategy and brand-building capabilities, with pioneering digital expertise running throughout.”

Sam Balasara and Lara Balasara are Madison World’s chairman and executive director, respectively.

It was in April 2022 when the EssenceMediacom merger was officially announced. The fusion combines the digital and data-driven capabilities of Essence with MediaCom’s scaled multichannel, audience planning, and strategic media expertise. 

Singapore – Singapore-based creative agency The Outsiders Co. (TOC) and media agency Cinema Vérité Pictures (CVP) have unveiled a new brand – Superminted – the result of a merger between the two agencies. The newly formed agency specialises in brand building and activation. Its capabilities include public relations, campaign marketing, digital content production and videography.

Superminted’s logo was created with four elementary shapes that reflect the company’s foundational values. The speech bubble denotes communication and understanding, the triangle signifies excellence and growth, the square for trust and stability, and the circle completes the logo to symbolise unity and all-roundedness. Combined, the logo signifies the team’s commitment to understanding clients well in order to create and deliver meaningful, inspiring and impactful work.

Before the merger, TOC and CVP worked together on several projects such as Deliveroo, Sadia, and United Overseas Bank, where both teams found synergy in creative styles and goals. Beyond the two companies’ working relationship, the decision to merge a branding agency with a video production house was based on analysing market trends and forecasting industry changes over the next five years. First is a trend toward the consolidation of services, and second is bold entries into new digital terrains, while the third is the need for a combination of experience (TOC) and in-house video production capabilities (CVP).

Nadine Wu, head of agency at Superminted, said, “There has never been a better time to bring brand-building and production together. We realised that it is important for every company to have a growth trajectory – Superminted was thus formed to not only help brands define their edge, but also to intensify their emotional and sensorial appeal to audiences.”

Meanwhile, Jeremiah Su, chief of relations at Superminted, noted, “Superminted provides an integrated solution to create, develop and maintain brands. By combining our business expertise, we provide end-to-end creative solutions to marketing challenges and projects, fulfilling our existing and prospective clients’ needs.”