Martin Sorrell’s S4 Capital confirms discussions to acquire MightyHive programmatic platform
Sir Martin Sorrel’s S4 Capital has confirmed it is in talks to acquire programmatic platform MightyHive.
MightyHive, founded in 2012, claims to be one of the largest and fastest-growing programmatic buyers in the world, with offices in San Francisco, New York, Sydney, London, and Singapore. The company would be the second acquisition for S4 after the AU$536m purchase of Dutch production house MediaMonk.
In July 2017, MightyHive CEO Peter Kim spoke at Mumbrella360 about the possibilities of programmatic advertising and how the shift to automated ad trading is driving the merger of media buying and creative agency functions.
Following his ousting from WPP, the holding company he built over 34 years, Sorrell established S4 Capital with £51m of seed funding and engineered a reversed takeover of London Stock Exchange listed company Derriston Capital PLC.
At the time of the reverse listing on the LSE, Sorrell said the business would focus on three areas, announcing in a statement: “S4 Capital intends to provide global, multi-national, regional, local clients and influencer-driven millennial brands with new age/new era digital marketing services concentrated in three key areas initially – further development of a global digital content platform; first-party data fuelling both digital media planning and creative ideas too; and, finally, digital media buying.”
Last month, S4 Capital appointed WPP’s Michel de Rijk as APAC CEO. Speaking to Mumbrella after announcing his move, de Rijk told Mumbrella Asia the company was looking “to acquire companies in the content, digital media planning and buying and first party data space. This can be global or regional operating businesses.”
S4 is being advised HSBC Bank and Dowgate Capital on the potential acquisition.
In the statement confirming the talks, S4 Capital said: “The Board of the Company notes the recent press speculation and confirms that it is in advanced discussions in relation to the potential acquisition of MightyHive, Inc. (the “Potential Transaction”).
“The Potential Transaction, if consummated, would be in line with the Company’s stated strategy of creating a new era, new media solution embracing data, content and technology in an always-on environment for global, multi-national, regional and local clients and for millennial-driven digital brands.
“There can be no certainty as to whether the Potential Transaction will occur. Further announcements will be made as appropriate.””
