Dentsu Inc. agrees to acquire 100% of shares in Singapore-based content marketing company Novas Pte Ltd.

Dentsu Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Toshihiro Yamamoto; Capital: ¥74,609.81 million) has reached an agreement with the shareholders of Novus Group Holdings Pte Ltd (Headquarters: Singapore; Founder & CEO: Simon Cholmeley; hereinafter "Novus"), a leading Singaporean content marketing company, to acquire 100% of its shares.

Founded in 2009, Novus provides comprehensive content marketing services spanning brand strategy development, content creation, and management. It has grown to become one of Southeast Asia's largest independent content marketing companies, currently employing 35 editors, creators, and digital specialists. Novus possesses particular strength in the digital domain and serves both local and globally recognized multinational corporations.

Content marketing is a strategy where companies provide relevant and valuable information (content) to their customers, thereby increasing customer engagement with the company's products and services, and driving purchasing actions and the development of ongoing relationships. Its importance has grown significantly alongside the advancement of digitalization.

Following the share acquisition, we will integrate Novus into the network of John Brown Media (Headquarters: London, UK), a global content marketing company acquired by our group in 2015, and change its brand name to "John Brown Novus". Furthermore, by collaborating with iProspect, one of our group's 10 global network brands* with strengths in the digital performance domain, we will accelerate our growth strategy in the APAC (Asia-Pacific) region.

The impact of this matter on the consolidated results for the fiscal year ending December 2017 will be minimal.

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

　

【Novus Group Overview】
Company Name: Novus Group Holdings Pte Ltd (Novus)
Headquarters: Singapore
Established: November 2009
Shareholder Structure: After share acquisition, Dentsu Inc. Aegis Network: 100%
Revenue: SGD 4.1 million (approx. ¥330 million) (Fiscal Year Ended December 2016)
Representative: Simon Cholmeley (Founder & CEO)
　Marie Lyte (COO & CFO)
Number of Employees: 35
Business Description: Provides comprehensive services in the content marketing field