Dentsu Aegis’ biggest deal in recent years is its majority stake in US-based performance marketing agency Merkle for about $800m and, since then, Merkle has been busily expanding in Europe, buying Dutch firm Oxyma a few weeks back.
Now, in a further sign of its intent, Merkle has appointed Julia Crawley-Boevey (left), formerly at Hearst’s iCrossing, as its first head of mergers and acquisitions in the EMEA area, tasked with “sourcing the companies best aligned with Merkle’s aims, leading all deal activity and overseeing post-acquisition integration.”
Before Isobar Crawley-Boevey worked at M&A company Results International on deals including securing investment for Blue Rubicon from Lloyds Development Capital, advising Profero on its sale to IPG’s Lowe & Partners (now MullenLowe) and Crayon on its purchase by Karmarama.
Merkle EMEA president Michael Komasinski says: “M&A will be a key pillar in our renewed drive to expand our presence across EMEA and enhance our people-based marketing capabilities in the region over the next year and beyond. Julia has unrivalled experience in helping global companies in our space to grow rapidly through M&A. We’re thrilled to be working with her again and we’re confident that, through her leadership, Merkle’s growth in EMEA will continue to skyrocket.”
Crawley-Boevey says: “Merkle is a company that has consistently been at the forefront of the digital marketing revolution and it’s an honour to be joining the leadership team at such a significant stage in its journey. With the support of Dentsu Aegis Network, there is a huge opportunity to strengthen our capabilities in EMEA and continue to build out a global presence via M&A. I’m looking forward to working closely together to achieve our vision.”
