GigantiCo™ is the blog of Chris Grayson, Digital Creative Strategist, writing at the intersection of art, technology & business – art, design, culture, architecture, technology, trends, data visualization, transhumanism, robotics, augmented reality, virtual reality, the metaverse, the tech-industry, gadgets, mobile, d.o.o.h., digital marketing & advertising – in short, whatever piques his interest.
Who will buy Razorfish?
Sunday, June 28, 2009 at 11:42PM 
Two years ago Microsoft acquired aQuantive, a third-party-ad-server and digital media management firm. Previous to this aQuantive acquired Razorfish and merged it with their online advertising arm, Avenue A. The merged company had been operating under the name Avenue A | Razorfish, until earlier this year when it was announced that “Avenue A” would be dropped from the name. Though Avenue A was the acquiring firm, Razorfish has stronger brand equity in the industry. Many viewed this as a tell-tale sign that Microsoft was preparing to put it up on the block. Microsoft’s acquisition of aQuantive was made in response to Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick. aQuantive’s media management arm was Microsoft’s business unit of interest; the banner ad and website dev components of the Avenue A | Razorfish subsidiary simply came as part of the package and were widely expected to be spun off from the start. Since this time, Microsoft has rebranded aQuantive as “Microsoft Advertising”.
Spinning off Razorfish will allow Microsoft to pursue media accounts that could appear to be in conflict with Razorfish’s roster of clients or even direct competitors of Razorfish itself, and allow it to compete more aggressively with Google’s DoubleClick.
On Sunday evening The Financial Times reports that the sale of Razorfish is being handled by Morgan Stanley. Razorfish is a widely respected brand, and leader in digital innovation. Clients include Levis, Intel, Coca-Cola, Sony, Kraft, Visa and others.
Razorfish could be an attractive purchase for any of the major holding companies— The usual suspects include WPP, Publicis, Omnicom, MDC Partners, Havas, Dentsu or The Interpublic Group.
Of the major players, Interpublic has financial issues of its own that place it out of the running. Aside from that, Interpublic already owns R/GA, and therefore has much less incentive to jump at a Razorfish sale. WPP has been going through some trials of its own, as has it’s trophy agency, Ogilvy. WPP already walked away from a deal to buy Razorfish last year and it seems even less likely now.
The Financial Times article that broke the story makes much about a Friday announcement of a “strategic partnership” between Microsoft Advertising and Publicis business unit, VivaKi. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the Financial Times are overplaying this development. Microsoft Advertising is currently trying to cut deals with all the major agencies and I see nothing significant about the timing of this particular deal. I also take note of the fact that, as of the time of this writing, VivaKi’s homepage, rather than publicizing anything about the Microsoft deal is instead boasting of their relationship with DoubleClick (Google’s ad-servering arm, and Microsoft Advertising’s #1 rival).
Omnicom powerhouse, BBDO just completed an internal merger of its major NY interactive shop, Atmosphere, with another of their global digital shops, Proximity. Their agency portfolio also includes Tribal DDB (the first digital shop to win Advertising Age Global Agency of the Year), and TBWA/Media Arts Lab (digital shop to Apple). Their digital portfolio is strong. My bet is they pass.
Havas CEO, Vincent Bolloré has been talking up acquisition in the press all month (as has Publicis). Bolloré is hunting for deals, and Razorfish would be quite a prize. Havas is in the game.
Some might consider MDC a long shot, and I have no idea of their cash position for such an acquisition, but with the high flying Crispin Porter + Bogusky in their general portfolio this gives them a pre-existing Microsoft relationship, and would also put Razorfish in very good company.
Tokyo based Dentsu has been shopping overseas for acquisitions, and recently snapped up hot independent New York shop McGarryBowen (and their upstart interactive arm, Continuity). If they’re still shopping for bargains and looking to further expand their portfolio outside of Japan, Razorfish would have to look enticing.
Though a very long-shot, I also wouldn’t rule out a suitor from outside of the advertising arena. Razorfish could very well be attractive to a technology/software company.
It could be Publicis, but I’m going to buck the conventional wisdom and say it could as likely be Havas, Dentsu or MDC Partners. I could even see a very competitive bidding war.
What do you think?
Full disclosure: Of the firms discussed in this article, in the past I have worked for and/or consulted for WPP, Ogilvy, Havas, Omnicom, Atmosphere, Dentsu, McGarryBowen, Continuity, Morgan Stanley and I’m currently consulting for a subsidiary of Interpublic Group. Nothing in this article is derived from any insider information, and is entirely gleaned from reading the trade/business press together with my own personal insights. I have never worked for Razorfish.
Reader Comments (1)
I don't think Publicis needs Razorfish. The two biggest world digital networks belongs to them: Modem and Digitas. They are the largest and number one communication group in digital. 10.000 employees in 50 countries. My vote is on Dentsu. They really need to widen their digital capabilities and offer new services.