WPP's Wunderman Takes Majority Stake In Russian Digital Shop Alite
This story was written by David Kaplan.
WPP Group continues its steady pace of digital purchases in growing markets today by taking a majority stake in Russian interactive agency Alite Ltd. The company trades as Actis and will be folded into WPP's Wunderman network. The 11-year-old Moscow-based shop employs around 120 staffers. Actis provides strategy, design, development and content management for clients in Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. It's got a familiar sounding client roster, which includes companies like Canon, Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) and MTV. WPP says Actis' revenues last year were RUR 124 million ($5.2 million) with gross assets of RUR 51 million ($2.1 million). The purchase comes a week after Google (NSDQ: GOOG) made a Russian acquisition of its own, the contextual advertising company ZAO Begun from internet portal Rambler. Release
By David Kaplan