Dentsu Inc. reportedly bid $700 million for Microsoft Corp.'s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Razorfish digital marketing unit in August, only to
lose out to a $530 million bid from Publicis Groupe SA. The reason, reportedly, was that Dentsu, Japan's largest ad agency, lacked the U.S. commercial presence to compete with the five-year strategic alliance Publicis struck with Microsoft as part of the deal, as Digital East Asia
explains. Marketing columnist Stuart Smith
foresaw it all here.
So given Dentsu's keen pursuit of Razorfish, and the firm's need to expand outside Japan, it isn't so surprising that CEO Tatsuyoshi Takashima told the Wall Street Journal on Thursday that he's still
looking for deals in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
What is a little surprising is his take on the victory by Publicis, where Dentsu is the largest shareholder with a 15% stake purchased in 2002. "What is important is one of us got the deal," Takashima said.
So: From allies, to bidding rivals, back to allies. These minority-stake strategic alliances do get complicated.-Kenneth Klee
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