Dentsu Group Enhances Merkle’s Identity Capability with Acquisition of 4Cite Marketing in the U.S.

Dentsu Group Inc. (Tokyo: 4324; ISIN: JP3551520004; President & CEO: Toshihiro Yamamoto; Head Office: Tokyo; Capital: 74,609.81 million yen) announced today that its consolidated subsidiary and global business headquarters Dentsu Aegis Network Ltd.*, has acquired a 100% stake in 4Cite Marketing, LLC (Head Office: Albany, NY; CEO: Bob Gaito; hereinafter: 4Cite), a leading people-based identification and data services technology company in the eCommerce sector.

Founded in 2010, 4Cite has capabilities that help retailers influence purchase activity by reaching more customers with personalized engagements. Its proprietary technology platform aggregates and distills personally identifiable actions using advanced analytics and real-time decisioning to understand when to best market to each consumer and trigger individualized content. 4Cite is also a repository of first-party consumer information captured across its client and partner base. The resulting 4Cite Data Network enables a broader, in-depth understanding of each individual.

4Cite will join Merkle, a leading technology-enabled, data-driven performance marketing company. The acquisition of 4Cite further bolsters Merkle’s role as a leader in identity technology. This acquisition also enables M1, Dentsu Aegis Network’s people-based insights, planning, and activation platform, to build an identity graph that delivers scale, deterministic matches, and persistent identity based on first-party cookies. 4Cite’s technology reinforces Merkle’s media business, providing clients with a viable path to execute addressable media campaigns outside of walled gardens.

The impact of this transaction on the Dentsu Group's consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2020 is expected to be minimal.

* Dentsu Aegis Network Ltd., the Dentsu Group's global business headquarters based in London, is expanding the Group's business worldwide through ten global network brands as well as through several specialist/multi-market brands.

Profile of 4Cite

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About the Dentsu Group
Led by Dentsu Group Inc. (Tokyo: 4324; ISIN: JP3551520004), a pure holding company established on January 1, 2020, the Dentsu Group encompasses two operational networks: Dentsu Japan Network, which oversees Dentsu’s agency operations in Japan, and Dentsu Aegis Network, its international business headquarters in London, which oversees Dentsu’s agency operations outside of Japan.
With a strong presence in over 145 countries and regions across five continents and with more than 62,000 dedicated professionals, the Dentsu Group provides a comprehensive range of client-centric integrated communications, media and digital services through its ten global brands—Carat, Dentsu, dentsu X, iProspect, Isobar, mcgarrybowen, Merkle, MKTG, Posterscope and Vizeum—as well as through Dentsu Japan Network companies, including Dentsu Inc., the world’s largest single brand agency with a history of innovation. The Group is also active in the production and marketing of sports and entertainment content on a global scale.
Dentsu Group Inc. website URL: https://www.group.dentsu.com/en/

Contact:
Shusaku Kannan
Executive Director
Group Corporate Communications Office
Dentsu Group Inc.
Telephone: +81 (3) 6217-6602
E-mail: s.kannan@dentsu.co.jp