The Marketshare - 13th October 2026
Strategic Intent in Focus: Divestment and the Changing Agency Model
The overall advertising market is growing, but the agency model is evolving. Corporate development has become more complex with the environment becoming more competitive and all businesses reviewing their optimal structure more radically. Some of the transactions below highlight holdco groups selling specific businesses and specialist businesses finding new type of partners. In some cases, agencies have chosen (or been forced) to close. But it need not be inevitable. If issues are addressed early enough, alternatives can include a merger or strategic sale, management buyout, minority investment, business carve-out and secondary PE deals in order to preserve value and continuity.
Divestment and portfolio restructuring are reshaping the sector. Recent events in Australia show a clear trend: M+C Saatchi’s planned advertising exit, CX Lavender’s sale after administration and XPON’s Google services divestment show different responses to pressures that have been building for years. Portfolio resets at WPP, Dentsu and Omnicom continue to extend this theme globally. Advertising expenditure is still forecast to grow, but more spending is flowing to major platforms. At the same time, AI, in-housing and procurement pressure are squeezing some agency margins.
Specialist expertise continues to attract investment. Headland’s acquisition of Shearwater and Excellera’s acquisition of Alma highlight demand for political, regulatory and financial advice across borders. JKR and Merchantwise/WP Brands show the continuing appeal of specialist branding and licensing capabilities. These businesses offer expertise and relationships that take time to build, with new ownership providing opportunities for expansion, succession and continuity. Experiential, social and influencer capability remain in very high demand amongst acquirers.
Buyers are connecting capabilities with commercial outcomes. Cosmo5/Brew and The Barnett Group’s RSM& acquisitions illustrate the push to link creative work with customer engagement and measurable results. Taboola/Dianomi, IVE/Motio and Tillo/Amilon extend that connection through audience access, distribution and commerce. In adjacent technology services, acquisitions by Evergreen and xAmplify, alongside Bridgepoint’s investment in VIPR, highlight the appeal of recurring income and capabilities embedded in clients’ operations.
If you'd like to explore how Yefira can support your strategic growth plans, reach out to our CEO, George Kypraios, at gkypraios@e-yefira.com.
Australia / New Zealand: M+C Saatchi Announces Advertising Exit in Australia After MBO Falls Through
M+C Saatchi announced that the proposed management buyout of its Australia and New Zealand advertising agency, backed by Parc, would not proceed after the parties were unable to agree acceptable transaction terms following due diligence.
The group announced that the advertising operation would cease before year-end, ending a roughly 30-year presence. M+C Saatchi World Services remains operational in Australia.
Australia: CX Lavender Moves from Administration to Strategic Sale
CX Lavender entered voluntary administration in March 2026 after nearly three decades in business. In June 2026, Omnicom Oceania announced its acquisition of the majority of the business.
Australia / UK: XPON Divests its Google Services Business to Incubeta
As highlighted in our June newsletter, XPON had agreed to sell its Google Marketing Platform and Google Cloud Platform business to Incubeta on 15 June 2026. Incubeta has since announced completion of the acquisition.
The agreement provided AUD 5.5 million upfront (USD 3.84 million), plus up to AUD 2.0 million of performance-linked consideration (USD 1.40 million), for a potential AUD 7.5 million total (USD 5.23 million), subject to agreed adjustments. XPON intends to redirect capital towards its Wondaris AI marketing platform.
YEFIRA INSIGHT: “Australia’s agency exits and divestments show why early intervention creates choices. Owners have more room to explore a merger, strategic sale or management buyout, or rescue debt financing. Waiting until distress takes hold typically narrows these choices and weakens negotiating power.”
Global: Omnicom Combines IPG Integration with Business Disposals
Omnicom expects its combined workforce to fall from approximately 120,000 to 105,000 by year-end as it integrates IPG. This 12.5% reduction includes removal of duplicated roles, outsourcing, offshoring and employees leaving the group through disposals.
Global / APAC: WPP Pursues Cost Reduction and Non-core Disposals
WPP has cut approximately 11,000 roles since the beginning of 2025 and may remove up to another 1,000 this year. Its first-half 2026 revenue less pass-through costs was down 4.7%, including a 3.8% decline across APAC.
Portfolio simplification is proceeding alongside investment in WPP Open and a more integrated operating model.
Global: Dentsu Reduces International Complexity and Reviews Underperforming Businesses
Between January 2021 and January 2026, Dentsu halved its number of international entities, from a starting point of more than 1,000. Its updated plan targets a further reduction of roughly 70 - 80 entities in FY2026 and considers another 50 - 80 by FY2028.
The programme includes consolidation, cost reduction and reviews of loss-making or underperforming operations and potential exits.
France: Cottonwood Media Regains Independence Through Federation Stake Buyback
Cottonwood Media has reportedly bought back Federation’s stake, restoring its independence. The Paris-based producer specialises in premium children’s and youth content across live action and animation.
Independent ownership can give Cottonwood greater control over its creative direction and partnerships. Sustainable independence requires access to production finance, distribution and key talent.
YEFIRA INSIGHT: “Divestment can return a specialist business to independent ownership. Buybacks offer another ownership route when the business can fund growth and operate sustainably outside its former group.”
UK / Belgium: Headland Acquires Shearwater Global
Headland acquired the Brussels and London strategic political and regulatory advisory firm, establishing a Brussels presence and adding strengths in trade, geopolitics, competition and M&A, technology and AI, and environmental policy.
The acquisition expands Headland’s international communications business across political, regulatory and reputational advisory services.
Italy / UK: Excellera Acquires Alma Strategic Communications
ICG-backed Excellera acquired London-based Alma Strategic Communications, strengthening its financial communications and capital markets advisory offer. Alma advises on investor and analyst relations, M&A, IPOs, capital raising, corporate communications and crisis management.
The combination creates opportunities for cross-border mandates, while partner reinvestment keeps senior advisers aligned with the group’s growth.
YEFIRA INSIGHT: “Regulatory complexity and corporate activity sustain demand for specialist advice across borders. Communications groups are acquiring expertise built on judgement, market knowledge and trusted relationships that take years to develop.”
USA / Southeast Asia: Cosmo5 Acquires Brew Group
Cosmo5 acquired Singapore-headquartered Brew Group with the transaction expanding it’s APAC presence.
The combination connects creative, performance marketing, SEO and generative engine optimisation, content, social and marketing technology. Together, they can offer regional clients a connected creative, performance and technology service, reducing the coordination required across separate agencies.
USA: The Barnett Group Acquires RSM and Builds RSM&
RSM provides an established retail activation business that investors can develop into a broader experiential marketing platform combining physical engagement with data, commerce and digital amplification.
Connecting its physical reach with its R.96 platform data and digital amplification can turn individual activations into more measurable, repeatable client programmes.
YEFIRA INSIGHT: “Increasingly, clients want connected services that link creative work, customer engagement and commerce. Combining capabilities adds value when it improves coordination, produces measurable outcomes and creates profitable repeat business.”
Australia: xAmplify Acquires ServiceNow Specialist Accelerate IT Solutions
xAmplify acquired Perth-based Accelerate IT Solutions, extending its ServiceNow capability and presence in Western Australia.
Accelerate contributes workflow automation expertise alongside xAmplify’s cybersecurity, cloud, AI and managed services capabilities. This broadens geographic coverage and lets the group combine workflow implementation with ongoing technology support.
Australia: Evergreen Acquires Concept Data and Voice Select
Evergreen’s Lyra Technology Group acquired Adelaide-based Concept Data and sister business Voice Select, marking Evergreen’s fifth ANZ acquisition of the quarter. The acquisitions strengthen Lyra’s South Australian presence and combine managed IT with business voice and telecommunications services.
YEFIRA INSIGHT: “MSP consolidation is supported by recurring revenue and continuing demand for cloud, security and workflow automation. Acquirers are combining specialist skills with ongoing support to deepen client relationships and build more predictable earnings.”
UK: Taboola to Acquire Dianomi
This combines Dianomi’s specialist finance and business advertising network with Taboola’s Realize performance platform, first-party data and AI, providing greater access to advertiser demand, technology and reach.
Cash consideration of GBP 19 million (USD 25.17 million), or GBP 0.64 per share (USD 0.848), represents a 68% premium to the undisturbed closing price. Contingent consideration can add GBP 0.24 per share (USD 0.318), taking the maximum to approximately GBP 27 million (USD 35.77 million).
UK / USA: GCP Exits JKR to Breakwater Management
JKR specialises in brand consultancy, identity and experience, with clients including Coca-Cola, KFC and Heinz. The transaction supports the next phase of development following GCP’s investment in US growth and deeper strategic capabilities.
Australia / New Zealand: Merchantwise Group to Acquire WP Brands
The agreement expands Merchantwise’s licensing capabilities alongside its creative, social, digital and media services. WP Brands adds recognised properties and experienced licensing leadership to Merchantwise’s existing platform.
UK / Italy: Tillo Acquires Amilon
This enables Tillo with digital incentives, gift cards, employee benefits, retail technology and media monetisation capability, with deeper access across Italy and continental Europe.
Amilon’s co-founders reinvest and continue to lead the business, supporting continuity and a shared growth incentive. The combined companies expect to process more than GBP 3 billion of gift cards in 2026 (USD 3.97 billion), with 30% year-on-year growth.
UK / Global: Bridgepoint Takes a Majority Stake in VIPR
Bridgepoint announced a majority investment in insurance technology business VIPR, with Tenzing fully exiting its investment. VIPR’s platform processes approximately 500,000 bordereaux annually, representing around USD 12 billion of gross written premium.
Australia: IVE Group to Acquire Motio
The proposed acquisition would expand IVE’s marketing offering and services portfolio where Motio adds owned digital OOH inventory.
The offer is AUD 0.06 cash per share (USD 0.0419), implying fully diluted equity value of AUD 20.7 million (USD 14.44 million) and enterprise value of AUD 16.7 million (USD 11.65 million), approximately 6.7x FY2026 EBITDA.