Daiko Advertising Inc, a full-service advertising company headquartered in Japan’s Osaka, has acquired a majority stake in New Delhi-based creative advertising agency From Here On Communications Pvt. Ltd (FHO) for an undisclosed amount.
FHO will be known as Daiko From Here On Communications, or Daiko FHO, henceforth.
Daiko said in a statement that the decision to buy the Indian creative agency was aimed at strengthening its base in the country and continuing its expansion in Asia.
FHO provides creative advertising services in digital, print and television in India. This includes web design, content, social media and others.
FHO, which has 44 employees, was founded in 2011 by industry veterans Rajesh Aggarwal and Sabyasachi Sen. Aggarwal is currently the chief executive officer of the company while Sen is the chief creative officer.
Sen previously headed the Indian operations of another Japanese advertising firm, Dentsu, as executive vice chairman and chief creative officer. He also had stints with Rediffusion DY&R, Mudra, Trikaya Grey and JWT.
Before starting FHO, Rajesh Aggarwal was group president of Dentsu India group. He has also worked Panasonic India and Rediffusion DY&R in the past.
As on 31 March 2017, Sabyasachi Sen and Rajesh Aggarwal held 47.79% stake each in the company. The remaining 4.42% stake was held by Shivanand Mohanty, creative partner at the agency.
In 2016-17, FHO’s net sales rose 21% to Rs 21.3 crore. Its net profit almost doubled to Rs 2.53 crore on a year-on-year basis, according to VCCEdge, the research arm of VCCircle.
FHO’s clients include bike maker Yamaha, cricket news portal Cricbuzz.com, bathroom fittings brand Grohe, among others.
Daiko handles advertising for domestic and overseas newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, outdoor, traffic and movie media, direct mailing, public relations, among other services. This includes design, management, planning, production, and publishing.
The company has overseas bases in China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore, and Indonesia.
Corporate Catalyst India Pvt. Ltd acted as the sole financial advisor to Daiko for the transaction.
In another recent deal in the advertising space, Publicis Media, part of French advertising and communications giant Publicis Groupe, had acquired Mumbai-based digital out-of-home agency Ecosys OOH Advertising for an undisclosed amount in April.