Veteran ad man Sandeep Goyal is in active discussions with global bankers and potential partners to buy Dentsu’s international advertising business, which the Japanese advertising giant has recently put up for sale, excluding its Japan operations.
The Dentsu business segment currently up for offer comprises 66,000 people spread across 143 countries.
Dentsu’s global business is structured into ten core divisions: Carat, Dentsu (operations outside Japan), Dentsu Media, Mcgarrybowen, Merkle, Posterscope, Isobar, Soap Creative, iProspect, and Vizeum, along with several others.
All Dentsu-owned businesses outside Japan are managed under the Dentsu Aegis Network, which also oversees the former Aegis Group business acquired in 2013. This portfolio further includes 360i, Amplifi, Amnet, BJL, Grip Limited, The StoryLab, Data2Decisions, Mitchell Communications, Cardinal Path, and psLIVE.
Accenture is also being mentioned as a possible contender, though many global advertising holding companies are likely to avoid the race due to the complexity of integrating such a vast portfolio and the operational challenges involved.
