Nasdaq-listed Cognizant Technology Solutions has acquired Mustache, a privately-held video content firm, the company said in a statement. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed and the deal is expected to close during the first quarter of 2019. This is the sixth acquisition by Cognizant this year, which is based in New Jersey and has extensive development operations in India, chiefly in Chennai.
Brooklyn, New York-based Mustache brings a new approach to planning, producing and distributing video content and programming, Cognizant said. Founded in 2010, the company specialises in creating branded content for digital, broadcast and social mediums. The Mustache team will join Cognizant's content team, dubbed 'Interactive'.
Citing an Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) study done earlier this year, Cognizant said that nearly 60% of marketers’ digital ad budgets were allocated to video and that spends continue to grow, making it an important tool for marketing.
“Chief marketing officers are looking for a single-source, at-scale provider to help them with the capabilities they need to win in the experience economy,” said Donna Tuths, senior vice president and global head of Cognizant Interactive. She added that creating engaging content remains a challenge due to the demands of ‘always on’ nature of social media channels when it comes to video.
Mustache has created campaigns across a range of industries, including technology, tourism, beauty and television marketing and its clients include brands such as Google, Grammarly, L'Oréal and Netflix.
"We can leverage their deep resources and geographic reach to scale our capabilities more quickly and effectively to provide clients with more comprehensive solutions — marrying our content and creative with their cutting-edge technology and analytics to create a powerful, forward-looking, full-service model,” said John Limotte, founder and chief executive of Mustache.
Other acquisitions
A month prior to that, it had acquired SaaSfocus, a consulting firm specialising in digital transformation, for an undisclosed sum. The company is one of the largest consulting partners for Salesforce customers in the Asia-Pacific region. Salesforce is a global leader in cloud-based customer relationship management software.
In May this year, Cognizant had acquired Belgium-based business advisory and data analytics services firm Hedera Consulting for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition was aimed at helping the software services company to expand its consulting, business insight and digital transformation capabilities for clients in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Kentucky-based Bolder Healthcare Solutions was acquired by Cognizant for an undisclosed amount in March. It provides revenue cycle management solutions to hospitals and specialist healthcare organisations in the US.
