Dentsu Inc. (Tokyo: 4324; ISIN: JP3551520004; President & CEO: Toshihiro Yamamoto; Head Office: Tokyo; Capital: 74,609.81 million yen) announced today that Merkle*, one of the global brands within its global business headquarters Dentsu Aegis Network Ltd., has reached an agreement to acquire a 100% stake in Aquila Insight Limited (Head Office: Edinburgh; Co-Founders and CEOs: John Brodie, Warwick Beresford-Jones; hereinafter "Aquila Insight"), a data analytics company in the UK.

Founded in 2012, Aquila Insight is one of the largest independent data analytics companies in the UK, with headquarters in Edinburgh and London. The company, comprised of over 60 statisticians and data scientists, offers predictive analytics, media mix optimization, digital analytics and CRM to top brands throughout Europe, helping them develop data-driven strategies to drive ROI.

Developing a scaled predictive analytics capability is crucial to securing Merkle's position as the European leader in people-based marketing. To this end, Aquila Insight's skills in predictive analytics and the technology needed to support the delivery of insight will add significantly to Merkle's capabilities and scale in the UK and European market.

Following the acquisition, Aquila Insight will merge with Merkle to become Merkle|Aquila and will be a part of Merkle's European operation. Additionally, Aquila Insight's full staff will join the Merkle team, bringing Merkle's European staff to more than 850.

The impact of this transaction on Dentsu's consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2017 is expected to be minimal.

*Dentsu Aegis Network Ltd., the Dentsu Group's global business headquarters based in London, is expanding the Group's business worldwide through ten global network brands--Carat, Dentsu (Dentsu Brand Agencies), dentsu X, iProspect, Isobar, mcgarrybowen, Merkle, MKTG, Posterscope and Vizeum--as well as through several specialist/multi-market brands
Profile of Aquila Insight           
Company Name: 　　　　　　　　    Aquila Insight Limited
Location:     Scotland
Date of Establishment:    January 2012
Shareholding Ratio*:     Dentsu Aegis Network 100%
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　            *After acquisition has been completed
Gross Revenue:    GBP 5.7 million (year ended December 2016)
Key Management Personnel:     John Brodie (Joint CEO and Co-Founder)
    Warwick Beresford-Jones (Joint CEO and Co-Founder)
Number of Employees:     62
Line of Business:     Predictive Data Analytics

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