Interpublic Group has agreed to sell creative innovation agency R/GA to a new partnership between R/GA’s global management and private equity firm Truelink Capital.
The deal sees R/GA return to private ownership after 23 years.
R/GA’s global CEO Robin Forbes and chair and global chief creative officer Tiffany Rolfe are two of the global leaders who are investing in the company as part of the deal.
B&T understands there are no changes to R/GA Australia’s leadership team. Michael Titshall is APAC CEO and Victoria Curro is the local managing director. The agency’s creative team is led by chief creative officer Seamus Higgins and VP, chief design officer APAC Ben Miles.
Interpublic has been trying to sell R/GA for some time. Its sale follows that of Huge as Interpublic streamlines its business ahead of its proposed acquisition by Omnicom.
As part of the new partnership, Truelink has committed to pump $50 million into an ‘innovation fund’ to allow the company to invest in new skillsets and talent, and acquire new capabilities, emerging tools and platforms.
R/GA has established a Strategic Advisory Council of senior marketing and technology executives to support emerging AI client transformation opportunities across multiple sectors.
R/GA is activating an AI-enabled model to better serve clients that it said is “unburdened by the restrictions and overheads of traditional corporate structures”.
This includes new remuneration models based on outcomes, agile team structures, and scaling up its flexible talent model ‘R/GA Associates’.
“Today is a landmark moment for R/GA, as we enter an exciting new chapter as a private company supported by our new partners at Truelink Capital. This announcement also signals a stark contrast to a wider trend towards consolidation in the agency business,” Forbes said.
“Most agencies will struggle to make the pivot in this new age, especially at a time when they’re operating within complex agency structures, saddled with legacy business models. There’s never been a better time and there is no better company than R/GA to implement a new model for this new environment.”
Rolfe said that although AI tech is often focused on efficiency gains in the traditional marketing approach, R/GA would use it to enhance “creative potential to help brands differentiate themselves and exceed rising customer expectations through new kinds of intelligent experiences that haven’t been possible before”.
“To us, it’s an opportunity to accelerate our world-class creative work through technology and design,” Rolfe said.
Truelink co-founder and managing partner Luke Myers said: “R/GA is both designed and perfectly positioned to help seize that new opportunity for clients. Which is why we’re so excited to back R/GA’s global leadership team through our strategic investment.”
Houlihan Lokey and Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisors, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher provided legal representation to IPG and R/GA.
