Dentsu Acquires Digital Indie Firstborn

http://adage.com/agencynews/article?article_id=148588

Dentsu West, the U.S. arm of the Japanese holding company giant, has acquired 65-person indie digital shop Firstborn.

The New York-based digital agency is the latest in Dentsu's buying spree under Tim Andree, CEO of Dentsu West. Terms of the Firstborn deal, which has been in the works since last summer, were not disclosed. Firstborn will maintain its name and clients, and says its trio of senior leaders, CEO Michael Ferdman, President Dan LaCivita and Chief Creative JoonYong Park, will all stay onboard at the shop.
Firstborn's revenue was an estimated $12 million to $13 million in 2010, up more than 30% from 2009, the year it was named to Ad Age's A-List. It counts PepsiCo's Sobe, Wrigley and Aflac as clients.

One major point of difference is that, where most agencies use the influx of cash to set up new offices around the globe, Firstborn isn't looking to expand beyond its single, New York office. Mr. Ferdman is insistent on keeping all staffers within the same office in the hopes of keeping the agency's culture intact.

However, the acquisition could potentially raise conflicts with Firstborn's existing agency clients -- 25% of revenue comes from production work for other agencies. For example, the agency has a long-standing relationship with WPP's Team Detroit for car websites and customization tools. Another consideration will be the fact Firstborn counts PepsiCo a client, while 360i works with Coca-Cola, but Mr. Andree there will be sufficient firewalls put in place to safeguard those relationships.