Dentsu Inc. (Tokyo: 4324; ISIN: JP3551520004; President & CEO: Toshihiro Yamamoto; Head Office: Tokyo; Capital: 74,609.81 million yen) announced today that its global business headquarters Dentsu Aegis Network Ltd.*, has reached an agreement to acquire a 100% stake in Red Communication AS (Head Office: Oslo; Founder & Chairman: Nils Røang; hereinafter: RED), a media and performance agency in Norway. The completion of this acquisition is subject to regulatory approval by the Norwegian Competition Authority.

Headquartered in Oslo, RED is a fast-growing agency in Norway, and was twice awarded, both in 2016 and 2017, Norway's 'Media Agency of the Year' by Dagens Næringsliv, the country's largest financial newspaper. With a staff of 93 talented professionals, the agency offers a full suite of digital advertising services including performance marketing, performance publishing and digital content marketing, data and analytics, and media and brand activation.

RED was reorganized in 2017 and currently consists of five digital marketing and communication business. The companies are as follows:

-Red Media Consulting AS: The largest independent media agency in Norway
-Retail in Media AS: Media agency specialized in retail and CRM
-Red Performance AS: Performance marketing
-Plapre AS: Content marketing and creative agency
-Heia de som Vinner AS: Sponsorship and brand activation

Post acquisition RED will co-brand with dentsu X, one of the Group's brands with strengths in media and will be rebranded "RED dentsu X." The new agency will serve as the base of dentsu X in Norway thereby adding significant scale and capabilities to the Group, particularly in Northern Europe. Going forward the Dentsu Group intends to accelerate its offerings of completive media services in the European market.

The impact of this transaction on Dentsu's consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2018 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 Red Communication
Company Name:    Red Communication AS
Location (HQ office):        Oslo, Norway
Date of Establishment:    March 2017 (Founding date of holding company. Its predecessor was established in 2004.)
Shareholding Ratio*:    Dentsu Aegis Network 100%
    *After acquisition has been completed
Revenue:        NOK 123.9 million (year ended December 2017)
Key Management Personnel:    Nils Røang, Founder & Chairman
Number of Employees:     93
Line of Business:     Media and Performance Agency

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