McGarry Bowen, one of the largest independent ad boutiques in New York, has given in to its Japanese suitor, according to a story in today’s Wall Street Journal.
In buying McGarry Bowen, Dentsu will be acquiring an agency with a solid reputation and close ties to big marketers. Its clients include Hewlett-Packard and J.P. Morgan Chase. McGarry Bowen had about $57 million in revenue last year.
The deal also comes about six months after Dentsu named Tim Andree, chief executive officer of Dentsu America, its first non-Japanese executive officer, a move that suggested the firm was getting more serious about the U.S. market.
Mr. Andree, a professional-basketball-player-turned-marketing-executive, was behind Dentsu’s purchase last year of Attik, a small San Francisco firm that works for clients including Toyota Motor and Coca-Cola.
Dentsu hopes to receive 30% of its revenue from outside Japan by 2010.
