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 Digital Evolution Group LLC (Head Office: Overland Park; CEO & Co-Founder: Neal Sharma; hereinafter: DEG), a digital marketing agency in the United States.

Established in 1999, DEG is a top data-driven marketing, commerce and collaboration solutions agency headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, with additional offices in Denver, Pittsburgh and Des Moines. The agency's more than 300 employees offer a comprehensive suite of marketing and technology services that enable brands to implement and integrate e-commerce platforms with digital marketing strategy and campaigns. The agency has formed strong strategic partnerships with key marketing and commerce technology partners, most notably Salesforce, and was named one of the "25 Companies Changing the World" by Inc. Magazine.

Following the acquisition, DEG will join Isobar and will contribute significantly to Isobar's scale and capabilities across commerce, technology and digital marketing in the U.S. market. Moreover, it will position Isobar and DEG as a leading multi-cloud agency partner. Going forward, the agency will be called "DEG, Linked by Isobar," and will accelerate the Group's growth strategy for the U.S.

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 DEG
Company Name: Digital Evolution Group LLC
Location (HQ office): Overland Park, Kansas, United States
Date of Establishment: September 1999
Shareholding Ratio*: Dentsu Aegis Network 100%
　　　*After acquisition has been completed
Revenue: USD 45.82 million (year ended December 2017)
Key Management Personnel: Neal Sharma (CEO)
Number of Employees: 300+
Line of Business: Digital marketing, commerce and technology services

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