Digital partnership specialist Jellyfish has been valued at £500 million following a strategic investment from Fimalac Group.
Fimalac subsidiary Tradelab will be integrated into London-based Jellyfish, which also has key bases in Reigate and Brighton as well as Barcelona in Spain and Durban and Johannesburg in South Africa.
Founded in the UK in 2005, Jellyfish has grown at 45 per cent per annum over the last eight years and today employs 780 staff in 23 offices across the world.
It has established itself as one of a select few globally managed Google Marketing Partners and is a global digital partner to leading brands including Uber, Ebay, Spotify, Ford and Aviva.
“Building a digital business that is fit for the 21st Century means adding technology, consultancy and training to agency services, and on top of this, delivering them at scale,” said Rob Pierre, CEO of Jellyfish.
“This deal marks the beginning of an exciting new phase in the Jellyfish story.
“We see GP Bullhound as the leading global dealmaker in the digital services arena and they were invaluable in delivering this transaction for us.”
Fimalac is a group owned by French billionaire Marc Ladreit de Lacharriere.
The deal will see data-driven specialist Tradelab, a leading programmatic buyer in Europe and a web analytics and optimisation expert, integrated into Jellyfish.
Comprising 300 global experts, Tradelab has 120 specialists dedicated to technology, innovation and development alone and is a Google Marketing Partner.
In addition to Jellyfish’s integrated offering, which blends data, creative and media buying, Tradelab’s technologies will enhance the company’s value proposition across Google’s platforms.
Simon Nicholls, partner at GP Bullhound, which advised on the deal, commented: “This is the largest marketing services transaction in Europe this year and creates a new digital challenger of scale on the global stage.
“It’s a remarkable success story for a business that was a UK start-up in 2005 and we are delighted to have advised Jellyfish on this landmark transaction.”