Blue Barracuda sold to DraftFCB
Bare Partners advised the management team at Blue Barracuda on its sale to DraftFCB, in a strategic deal that provides Blue Barracuda a strong platform for leveraging its established credentials and full-service digital capability as part of an integrated offer.
The purchase of Blue Barracuda by DraftFCB London is the first move in what DraftFCB says will be an aggressive international mergers and acquisitions programme. Blue Barracuda, which was founded in 2002 as a full-service digital agency and has clients that include Pizza Hut, Getty Images and Nectar, will no longer operate as a stand-alone brand following the merger, but DraftFCB London will use the strapline: “Fuelled by Blue Barracuda.” The deal will see Blue Barracuda’s 60-strong team move into DraftFCB London’s office, increasing the Interpublic-owned agency’s headcount in the UK by 50 per cent to 180.
The digital agency’s management team, who own the agency, will take on new roles within DraftFCB London, with its chief executive, Martin Talks, becoming the president of digital. Marcus Exall, the client services director, becomes the digital director; Nick Berry, the planning director, will take on the role of planning director, digital; and Adrian Nicholls, the managing director, becomes the client services director.