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The Korea Herald
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THE INVESTOR
March 29, 2024

Deals

Innocean acquires US ad agency David & Goliath for W78b

  • PUBLISHED :December 15, 2017 - 14:41
  • UPDATED :December 15, 2017 - 14:41
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[THE INVESTOR] Innocean Worldwide, the in-house advertising agency of Hyundai Motor Group, announced on Dec. 14 that it has acquired US-based advertising firm David & Goliath for 78.3 billion won (US$71.60 million).





“Through acquiring D&G, we will be able to further grow our global creative competency,” Innocean global CEO Ahn Kun-hee said in a statement.

D&G was established in 1999 and its clients include Universal Studios, HBO and Jack in the Box. The company also worked for Kia Motors America for 18 years until the first half of this year. Its gross profit last year reached 49 billion won.

This is Innocean’s first acquisition since it went public in 2015. The company will pay the full acquisition amount in cash, as it has sufficient cash reserves. It had net cash reserves of 637.4 billion won as of end of first quarter this year. Based on the acquisition contract, half of the amount will be paid on Jan. 2 and the rest will be paid over the next four years.

“We will continue to pursue active overseas M&As and investments to expand our presence globally,” Ahn added.

Innocean was established in 2005 and it posted a gross profit of 381.3 billion won last year. Its gross profit in US accounted for 42 percent of its total gross profit last year, as against 33 percent from Korea.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)

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