It was announced recently that Matomy Media Group has agreed to sell just under 25% of itself to the French media conglomerate Publicis after the Israel-based company floated on the London stock market. Publicis will be buying 20% of Matomy's shares, with an option to buy a further 4.9% within 45 days at the same price (227p a share, meaning Matomy has been valued at $327 million). This would take the maximum value of the deal above £50 million. Ofer Druker, chief executive of Matomy, said the move will give them “The ability to grow faster and get into new markets,” and believes it's a “Great compliment that a giant company like Publicis has chosen to invest.” The partnership is one of the first Publicis deals since its $35 billion merger with Omnicom fell apart earlier in the year.
Ofer Druker, chief executive of Matomy, said the move will give them “The ability to grow faster and get into new markets”
This is just another example of the big advertising groups making a shift towards online marketing, with Publicis and its rivals WPP and Omnicom snapping up digital start-ups left, right and centre. Matomy is an agency that counts American Express and HSBC among its blue chip clients. It specialises in performance-based advertising, which allows companies to track their online marketing effectiveness. Maurice Levy, the Publicis Groupe's CEO, said “Matomy is fuelled by the innovators and technology experts of Israel and has quickly risen to the top of this important market by creating a world-leading, state-of-the-art platform.”
Meet Matomy Media Group 2014
Matomy is the only firm to return to the UK market this year after suspending its IPO plans amid numerous floats that has seen TSB, the AA and Just Eat join the London market. Matomy intends to move to a premium listing on the London market, but to do this it will need to ensure that 25% of its small-scale investors are based in Europe. Druker said he thinks there is “A trend in the industry right now that will get bigger and bigger,” namely traditional ad agencies putting “More and more investment into the digital world.” Druker believes they chose right going to London. He said “In the past six months it was not so appreciated that the company was profitable and growing,” but he thinks the “Winds are changing.”
It's said that Matomy and Publicis were introduced to one another by the French bank Rothchild, which advises both companies, just under two months ago
Matomy was formed in 2007 and is based in Tel Aviv, Israel's financial centre. It employs 400 people in offices around the world and services 1,600 clients. The agency posted £117.34 in sales last year and a net profit of £4.44 million. It's said that Matomy and Publicis were introduced to one another by the French bank Rothchild, which advises both companies, just under two months ago. Matomy's chairman Ilan Shiloah, said in a statement that “The pure performance advertising space is an area of high growth potential fuelled by innovation and technology across all channels.” He feels that with the Publicis Groupe's input, they will “Be able to create a more mature and sustainable ecosystem.”
Official Publicis Groupe Website
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and musician from Kidderminster in the UK.
