DENTSU INC.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 5, 2014
-New venture aimed at expansion of business and enhanced presence in West Africa-
Dentsu Inc. (Tokyo: 4324; ISIN: JP3551520004; President & CEO: Tadashi Ishii; Head Office: Tokyo; Capital: 74,609.81 million yen) announced today that its global business headquarters Dentsu Aegis Network Ltd. has reached an agreement with the principal shareholder of Media Fuse Ltd., a media agency located in Nigeria, to enter into a joint venture with the company with a view to increasing the Dentsu Group's presence in West Africa.
The Dentsu Group has established business bases in five countries in Africa-Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa and Tunisia-along with a network of partner companies in more than 20 other African markets. The new joint venture company, which will operate under the name Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network, will work closely with other Group companies in West Africa in order to allow the Group to respond more flexibly and quickly to the needs of clients who are pursuing regional and global expansion.
Media Fuse provides multiple services such as the optimization of digital media and the management of SNS media that go beyond mass media advertising services. The company has strengths in integrated advertising and communication services, and counts among its clients several leading global and regional companies that do business on the African continent. Although Media Fuse itself is a relatively new company, the company's CEO Emeka Okeke has developed a good relationship with several of the major media outlets in the West African countries of Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Sierra-Leone, Gambia and Liberia through his many years in the advertising business in the region, and he fully expects the rebranded Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network to play an important role as a media agency going forward.
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, and the flow of foreign capital into the country is increasing. The country's GDP has been growing at a rate of 6-7% over the last few years, and
in April this year Nigeria's economy surpassed South Africa's as the largest on the continent.
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The impact of this transaction on Dentsu's consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2015 is expected to be minimal.
Company Name: Media Fuse Ltd. Location: Lagos, Nigeria
Date of Establishment: August 2013; commenced operations in January 2014
Representative: Emeka Okeke (CEO) Number of Employees: 25
Line of Business: Full-service advertising and communication services
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Contact: Shusaku Kannan
Senior Manager
Corporate Communications Division
Telephone: (813) 6216-8042
E-mail: s.kannan@dentsu.co.jp
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