The Brandtech Group closes the acquisition of Jellyfish

The Brandtech Group has finally closed the acquisition of Jellyfish, a digital media and marketing group. Negotiations for the deal were first initiated in June. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

The Brandtech Group says the deal will enable the company to create “the No1 digital-only marketing group in the world” with more than $1 billion in revenue, more than 7,000 employees, working for eight out of ten of the world’s largest advertisers, and 49 of the top 100. 

Founded in 2005 by Rob Pierre and having over 2,000 employees across 38 offices worldwide, Jellyfish is a global partner in digital and performance marketing to brands such as Google, Netflix, and Uber. It is also one the most globally certified companies across  social media and marketing platforms like Google Marketing Platform, Snap, Amazon, Salesforce, Facebook and Google Cloud.

Pierre will take on the new role of Chairman while the founding partner and CEO of Brandtech Media, Nick Emery, will become CEO of Jellyfish. Pierre will focus on further acquisitions to continue scaling the company’s global footprint. Rob and Nick will join The Brandtech Group founder, David Jones, on the new Jellyfish board, composed of Chris Lee, Ed Ball, Emma Cookson, Betty Louie and Dawn Dickie.

“Fast-paced, fragmented and platform-led, today’s media landscape is changing at lighting speed. Supporting the ambitions of today’s global brands requires something unique and that’s what I believe we have been building at Jellyfish. The chemistry with The Brandtech Group was instant and compelling. Joining the Group will supercharge our capabilities and ambitions as we move into the next chapter of the Jellyfish story. I couldn’t be more excited,” said Rob Pierre, Jellyfish founder.

In November 2019, the French company Fimalac bought a majority stake in Jellyfish and integrated data expert Tradelab with it. As part of the deal, Fimalac now becomes one of the largest strategic and long-term shareholders in The Brandtech Group.

Founded in 2015 (as You & Mr Jones) by David Jones, The Brandtech Group is a marketing technology group that helps brands do their marketing better, faster and cheaper using the latest technology. Generating over $1 billion in revenue today, the Group works with eight of the world’s top 10 global advertisers and 49 of the world’s top 100. Clients include Banco Itaú, Danone, Intuit, LVMH, Microsoft, Morgan-Stanley, Reckitt, Renault-Nissan, PayPal, TikTok and Unilever.

The Brandtech Group founder and CEO David Jones said: “Marketing gets ever more complicated and our clients come to us for one thing: to help simplify this very complex world. When I created the company we set out to be the best in the world at helping clients connect content, data and media using technology and bringing Jellyfish into the Group allows us to take this to the next level.

“I first met Rob and Jellyfish back in 2016 and it’s been incredibly impressive to see what he and the team have built over the years. Both companies are industry disruptors at global scale, both built on founder energy, and both are obsessive about solving our clients biggest marketing challenges. And we also share the belief that technology is the key to doing this. I’m obviously excited about bringing them into the Group but even more excited for what we are now going to be able to deliver for our clients. And I’m thrilled to welcome Fimalac as shareholders and board members.”