Droga5 sells stake to William Morris Endeavor in half billion dollar deal
David Droga
The creative agency founded by Australian adman David Droga has agreed to sell a 49 per cent share to talent agency William Morris Endeavor for a reported $225m.
Droga founded the agency in 2006. He is one of the most awarded creatives of all time, with Droga5’s most famous work including the social media campaign that helped Barack Obama get elected. The agency won its fifth Titanium Lion at Cannes this year.
The deal includes the Australian operation, which launched in 2008. If the reported price is correct, it effectively values the agency at half a billion dollars.
Droga5 also has a London office. It exited the NZ market late last year. The agency’s Australian division is led by CEO Sundeep Gohil, creative chairman David Nobay and executive creative director Duncan Marshall.
“Droga5 has always endeavoured to be the most influential creative agency in the business, with ideas that move our clients and our industry forward,” said Droga in a statement. “This partnership will exponentially accelerate our ability to realise that ambition.”
Droga5 has global clients including Coca-Cola, Spotify and Motorola, while in Australia they represent major brands such as Woolworths and Qantas.
The company declined to comment on who the remaining shareholders in Australia are. Droga was formerly worldwide creative director of Publicis Worldwide. Droga5 has always denied persistent rumours that Publicis holds a stake in the company.
Wow. Congrats. Bloody well played, and bloody smart alliance.
(Why has this gotten no comments? I thought it would be full of D5-sucks trolls…)
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