Japanese advertising major Hakuhodo has acquired a 51% stake in Indian brand and entertainment agency group Marching Ants & Trigger Happy Entertainment Network (MA&TH). The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
With this stake acquisition, Hakuhodo aims to strengthen its presence in India.
Hakuhodo, which has been in India since January 2000, manages its parent company’s global and local businesses in India.
The Mumbai-headquartered MA&TH serves clients in content creation including film producers, studios, OTT platforms, broadcast companies and international brands.
MA&TH’s group companies include Marching Ants Advertising, an independent brand agency founded in 2001, and Trigger Happy Entertainment founded in 2007.
In FY22, Trigger Happy Entertainment recorded revenues of ₹30.29 crore on a profit of ₹5.28 crore. Marching Ants Advertising’s FY22 revenue stood at ₹12.5 crore while profit came in at ₹1.7 crore.
Trigger Happy Entertainment creates strategy and communication for film campaigns and OTT platforms while Marching Ants specialises in creating strategic and creative solutions for the entertainment industry.
MA&TH co-founder and CEO Amit Chandrra said, “Hakuhodo’s approach towards business, talent, and creativity was something that really fit into our vision for growth-both for our people and our clients. Our focus will be to further consolidate our leadership position in India as well as extend our brand solutions expertise in the Asia-Pacific region.”
Hakuhodo international president and CEO Shuntaro Ito added, “With MA&TH joining the group, the Hakuhodo India Group will gain a presence in Mumbai, the capital of India’s advertising industry, and be able to provide more Indian clients with effective and wide-ranging marketing solutions based on Hakuhodo’s Sei-katsu-sha Insight philosophy.” He further stated that MA&TH will join forces with its martech agency AdGlobal360 and activations company PMG.
“MA&TH will lead the growth of the Hakuhodo Group as a whole to the next level by collaborating with our offices beyond India, Japan, and Southeast Asia, especially in the entertainment business area,” Ito added.