OREANDA-NEWS. Dentsu Inc. announced the completion of the acquisition of Aegis Group plc, a process that was initiated on July 12, 2012 and approved at Aegis’s shareholder meetings on August 16, 2012. All the network companies that comprised the former Aegis Group (Carat, iProspect, Isobar, Posterscope, Vizeum and Aztec) will continue their operations within the Dentsu Group under the Aegis Media banner.

The expanded Dentsu Group now has a presence in 110* countries, and employs more than 36,000 professionals across the globe. It will also be number one in the Asia Pacific region, the fastest growing agency group in North America, a truly scaled operator in Europe and, as of now, the only global network built in and for the digital age.

“We are delighted that this transformative deal has been completed,” said Dentsu President & CEO Tadashi Ishii. “The addition of Aegis represents a massive step toward realizing our vision of a client-centric, collaborative global network of the best-in-class brand, digital and media agencies. We look forward to the value this will add to our clients’ businesses, wherever they may be, and look forward to growing with them as their partner of choice.”

Dentsu also announced the creation of the Dentsu Aegis Network Ltd., a new global operating unit headquartered in London, to oversee the operations of the Dentsu Network, which manages all of Dentsu’s global business operations outside of Japan, and Aegis Media’s operations worldwide. The Dentsu Network and Aegis Media will continue to operate as separate entities but they will be governed by the Dentsu Aegis Network Management Team and Board of Directors.

Tim Andree, Dentsu Inc. Senior Vice President and Dentsu Network CEO, has been appointed Executive Chairman of the Dentsu Aegis Network, and Jerry Buhlmann, who remains as CEO of Aegis Media, has been appointed CEO of the Dentsu Aegis Network. The Board of the Dentsu Aegis Network is made up of key executives from Dentsu and Aegis: Tadashi Ishii, Shoichi Nakamoto, Tim Andree, Kuni Matsushima and Nicholas Rey from Dentsu, and Jerry Buhlmann, Nigel Morris, Nick Waters, Nick Priday and Valerie Scoular from Aegis.