Multinational information technology firm Nihilent Ltd has acquired cross-disciplinary advertising platform Hypercollective, operated by Hyper Collective Creative Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
As part of the acquisition, Hypercollective founder KV Sridhar will join Nihilent as chief creative officer and will look after all relevant initiatives and projects at both firms, Nihilent said in a statement.
The company didn’t disclose the deal value.
Nihilent said the acquisition would help it leverage Hypercollective’s creative capabilities with its stack to be able to provide customers with solutions across the technological and creative spectrums.
Minoo Dastur, president and CEO at Nihilent, said the acquisition gives the firm a unique capabilities that will further complement its human-centered approach.
“We are well-positioned to offer brand management, UI design, digital, creative, spatial and consumer research,” Dastur added.
Mumbai-based Hypercollective was launched in 2016 and focusses on providing corporates, brands and governments with solutions in communications, strategy, content, design and technology, and data.
Pune-Nihilent, meanwhile, was set up in 2000 and has a presence in countries including India, Australia, South Africa, and the UK. The company’s products and services suite include business transformation solutions, digital transition and platforms, and data science and analytics.
It operates in sectors such as banking, financial services and insurance (BSFI), media and entertainment, retail and healthcare.
In August 2018, the firm refiled its draft red herring prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for an initial public offering (IPO). The proposed offering comprised fresh shares worth Rs 250 crore and nearly 2.13 million shares of promoter group entity Vastu IT Pvt. Ltd and 42 other individual shareholders.
The company, formerly Nihilent Technologies Ltd, had first filed its draft proposal in December 2015 and received approval from the market regulator in February 2016.
Nihilent’s acquisition of Hypercollective represents another M&A bet on the advertising and marketing space.
Earlier this month, Affle (India) Ltd acquired Spain-based Mediasmart Mobile S.L., a programmatic and proximity marketing firm. Affle (India) is the domestic arm of the Singapore-based mobile marketing solutions company. It listed itself on Indian markets last year.
Similarly, in December, multinational advertising and public relations company Havas acquired Indian experiential agency Shobiz Experiential Communications Pvt. Ltd. This marked the France-based Havas’ third Indian acquisition that year, with the group having bought independent user experience consultancy and design studio Think Design in May, and digital agency Langoor in September.
