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AKQA Announces New Investment Partner General Atlantic

2007-02-05 08:31 927

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 5 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- AKQA, a leading interactive marketing agency, announced today that it plans to accelerate its growth as a global independent with the addition of its new investment partner, General Atlantic LLC, a leading global private equity firm focused on growth companies. AKQA’s existing management team will continue to hold a substantial stake in the business. The terms of General Atlantic’s investment were not disclosed.

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A recognized pioneer in online marketing, AKQA uses innovative ideas and technology to deliver results for the world’s leading brands including Coca-Cola, Nike, Microsoft and Visa. For the second consecutive year, AKQA has received Agency of the Year honors on both sides of the Atlantic. AKQA was named Agency of the Year by OMMA Magazine in the U.S. and Digital Agency of the Year by Marketing Magazine in the U.K.

"We are very pleased with this long-term commitment by General Atlantic," said Tom Bedecarre, CEO of AKQA. "Working with General Atlantic allows AKQA to remain independent and concentrate on our work, our employees and our clients."

Anton Levy, managing director of General Atlantic said, "We’re delighted to partner with Tom Bedecarre and Ajaz Ahmed and their highly creative AKQA team. AKQA is a clear leader in digital marketing with recent wins from Coca-Cola, Diageo, Fiat and McDonald’s. We will make our global resources available to AKQA and its strong management, and we look forward to a long and productive association with AKQA."

General Atlantic is an experienced long-term investor in the Consumer & Media sector with significant current or past investment partnerships including Dice, Zagat, Priceline.com and E*trade..

Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to AKQA.

About AKQA

AKQA is the leading independent digital marketing agency with 500 employees in six locations: San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., London, Singapore and its newest office in Shanghai. AKQA provides digital strategy, creative and technology solutions to the world’s leading marketers, including Coca-Cola, Diageo, Microsoft, Nike, Unilever and Visa. For more information about AKQA see http://www.akqa.com .

About General Atlantic

General Atlantic LLC is a leading global private equity firm providing capital for growth companies driven by information technology or intellectual property. The firm was founded in 1980 and has approximately $12 billion of capital under management. General Atlantic has invested in over 150 companies, with current holdings in 50 portfolio companies of which about one-half are based outside the United States. The firm is distinguished within the investment community by its global strategy and worldwide presence, its commitment to provide sustained value-added assistance for its portfolio companies and its long-term approach. General Atlantic has over 70 global investment professionals among its 150 employees worldwide with offices in Greenwich, New York, Palo Alto, London, Dusseldorf, Hong Kong and Mumbai. For further information and a listing of GA’s public and private portfolio companies see http://www.generalatlantic.com .

Source: AKQA
Keywords: Food/Beverages
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