[Industry Update] DDB Mudra Acquires 22feet. Forms 22feet Tribal Worldwide.

Last reported in late December 2013, the acquisition of 22feet is finally completed as DDB Group Asia Pacific and Omnicom Group Inc. today announced that it has acquired 22feet.

Post acquisition, 22feet will merge with Tribal Worldwide India creating a new entity known as 22feet Tribal Worldwide, and part of the DDB Mudra Group.

Effective immediately, 22feet Tribal Worldwide will be spearheaded by Vineet Gupta, Managing Director, Brijesh Jacob, Joint Managing Director, and Deepak Nair, Chief Operating Officer. All three, originally from 22feet, will report directly to Madhukar Kamath, Group CEO & Managing Director, DDB Mudra Group.

On his new role, Vineet Gupta shared:

We are extremely excited to be a part of the DDB Group family. At 22feet, we share DDB's passion for innovation and technology and look forward to delivering best in class digital solutions to our clients across markets, as 22feet Tribal Worldwide.

They will also work closely with Patrick Rona, President, Chief Digital Officer, DDB APAC & President, Tribal Worldwide APAC Tribal Worldwide, and the rest of the Tribal World Wide network across 42 countries to deliver relevant International learnings to the local market.

Speaking about the acquisition, Madhukar Kamath, Group CEO & Managing Director, DDB Mudra Group, said:

With digital at the heart of DDB Mudra Group's agenda, we are extremely happy about joining forces with 22feet. I have tremendous respect for Vineet, Brijesh and Deepak, who are focused and determined in what they do. This energy flows into the organization's talent pool and their work. Under their leadership, in just five years, 22feet has grown leaps and bounds. With this energy and Tribal Worldwide's global reputation and reach, I'm excited to see what this magic of mergers can create.

It is believed that this acquisition is the first of many to come this year as there will be a huge wave of consolidation in the market. More and more smaller niche digital agencies will be acquired by bigger traditional agencies as they expand their offerings and business.