Blue Focus, one of China’s biggest marketing services companies, has signalled its ambition to expand internationally with the acquisition of London-based agency We Are Social.
In its first majority acquisition outside of China, Blue Focus has bought an 82.8 per cent stake in We Are Social for an initial $30m, with additional performance-based payments to be made over a three-year period.
The deal highlights the growing firepower of Asian marketing services companies, which have traditionally been the targets of western companies rather than their buyers, with the exception of Japanese advertising agency Dentsu’s £3.2bn acquisition of UK rival Aegis last year.