Grapevine:A Social Media Analytics Tool and a Few Digital Agencies are in for Possible Acquisition

We have just stepped into 2014 and the rumor mills are already abuzz in the acquisition space. According to the word that is being shared in the industry circles, a social media analytics tool and a few digital agencies are being courted by big names for possible acquisition.

The tool in question is Simplify360, a SaaS based social media analytics tool from Bangalore. Rumors going around state that Adobe is eyeing to acquire Simplify360. Adobe has been making great strides in the marketing analytics ecosystem and if it acquires Simplify360, it will only work in their favor since it has a strong presence in the India and APAC region.

With the likes of Oracle, SAP, and Sales force increasing their presence globally, the move - if the rumors are true - is very crucial for Adobe.

Moreover, even WPP seems to have expressed its desire to acquire Simplify360. If this is true, it makes the digital scenario all the more interesting to watch out for. For a mainline agency to express desire to acquire a social media analytics tool goes to show how crucial social media has become for marketers today.

We did try to reach out to Bhupendra Khanal, CEO of Simplify360. But he refused to answer to any of our questions.

However, the way India is becoming a hot bed for acquisition by industry giants (Little Eye Labs acquired by Facebook), it makes the scenario all the more interesting to watch out for.

Following the news of 22 feet being in talks with Omnicon India for a possible acquisition, we received a tip from one of our industry sources that Allied Media (a part of Percept Limited) is allegedly courting Webenza for acquisition. Though Puneet Pakhuja, CEO & Cofounder of Webenza declined to comment on it, there are also talks going around that Percept is allegedly on the lookout to acquire good digital agencies in Bangalore.

Already Percept has a good presence in advertising & media and adding a pure-play digital agency under its wings will only help it grow further. Acquisitions of digital agencies by traditional agencies is a trend that is fast emerging and will only become more prominent in 2014.

In Mumbai, there are words of Missing Link being in talks for acquisition as well. The Juhu-based agency has handled clients such as Sony PIX and Viacom and has executed several popular campaigns. We don’t have much details on who is trying to acquire Missing Link but Shabaz Malik, Cofounder & CEO, had this to share with us:

“It is too early for us to issue any comments on this. We are in here for the long run and want to build Missing Link bigger. Although, it’s nice to see your work getting noticed by industry giants.”

As the influence of digital increases and brands start looking at more ways to reach out to people than traditional means, mainline agencies need to build digital capabilities. And acquiring is the best way to go than investing in building a team from scratch.

Whether these rumors come true or not, only time will tell. But we can safely say that the coming few months will be exciting to say the least.