Dentsu Inc. Agrees to Acquire 100% Stake in Bluecom, a Leading E-Commerce Solutions Company in Asia

Dentsu Inc. Reaches Agreement to Acquire 100% of Shares in Bluecom, a Leading E-Commerce Solutions Company in Asia

Agrees to Acquire 100% of Shares in "Bluecom"

Dentsu Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Nao Ishii; Capital: ¥74,609.81 million) has reached an agreement with the shareholders of Bluecom Solutions Limited (Headquarters: Shanghai, China; Managing Directors: Patrick Deloy, Florian Legendre; hereinafter "Bluecom") to acquire 100% of its shares. Bluecom is a leading provider of e-commerce solutions in the Asia region.

Founded in 2012, Bluecom is headquartered in Shanghai and has sales offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, and other locations.

The company is a key partner in Asia for the world's three major e-commerce platforms: Magento, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, and SAP Hybris. Its team of 160 specialists provides e-commerce services to numerous global enterprises.

Specializing in e-commerce consulting and solution development, the company excels in building e-commerce platforms for global enterprises, localizing them for markets including China and other Asian countries, and integrating them with third-party data.

Asia, particularly China, has become the world's largest e-commerce market. Its B2C market size expanded approximately tenfold over the five years starting in 2010 and continues to accelerate its growth. Some projections indicate e-commerce could account for 20% of total retail sales by 2020. Furthermore, seven countries and regions—China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand—rank among the top 20 global e-commerce markets, with continued high market growth anticipated.

Following the acquisition, we will integrate Bluecom into the Isobar network, one of our group's ten global network brands* providing digital services. The aim is to further strengthen Isobar's brand commerce strategy, which enhances engagement between brands and consumers. Therefore, the brand name will be changed to "Isobar Commerce." Working in collaboration with Isobar China and other group companies across Asia, particularly BerryStar (now BerryStar Linked by Isobar), the Chinese mobile e-commerce specialist acquired in May 2016, Isobar Commerce will provide consumers with high-value brand experiences and purchasing services across all commerce platforms.

The impact of this matter on the Company's consolidated results for the fiscal year ending December 2016 is immaterial.

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*Dentsu Inc. Aegis Network (London), which oversees Dentsu Inc. overseas operations, conducts business globally centered around 10 global network brands. These 10 brands are Carat, Dentsu (Dentsu Brand Agencies), Dentsu media, iProspect, Isobar, mcgarrybowen, Merkle, MKTG, Posterscope, and Vizeum.

 

[Bluecom Company Overview]

Company Name:Bluecom Solutions Limited
Headquarters: Shanghai, China
Established: May 2012
Shareholder Structure: After share acquisition, Dentsu Inc. Aegis Network: 100%
Revenue: CNY 38.75 million (approx. ¥630 million) (Fiscal Year Ended December 2015)
Representative: Patrick Deloy (Managing Director)
　Florian Legendre (Managing Director)
Number of Employees: 160
Business Activities: Development and provision of e-commerce solutions, maintenance, consulting, and other services

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Dentsu Inc. News Release
http://www.dentsu.co.jp/news/release/2016/1124-009085.html