Publicis Groupe Acquires Kindred Group in Czech Republic

Publicis Groupe Acquires Kindred Group in Czech Republic

October 4, 2018 - Paris -  Publicis Groupe [Euronext Paris FR0000130577, CAC 40] announced today the acquisition of Kindred Group, the largest, independent digital communications group in Czech Republic.

Kindred Group was founded in 2013 by Michal Nýdrle and a group of partners as a collective of independent specialized agencies that includes digital agencies Nydrle and Inspiro; and media agencies Red Media and Go.Direct. In the last five years, it has become Czech Republic's largest independent digital communications company by revenue^[1]. Kindred Group works with a wide range of international and local clients including Moneta Money Bank, Unilever, Karlovarske mineralni vody, Vodafone, Zoot, Remy Cointreau, Ceskoslovenska obchodni banka, Huawei and Makro Cash and Carry.

The acquisition will see the integration of Kindred Group's agencies into the Publicis Groupe agency portfolio in Czech Republic alongside Zenith, Starcom, Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi, Publicis, MSL, Performics, Blue 449, Starlink and Newcast. With Kindred Group coming on board, Publicis Groupe Czech Republic will be a 400-employee strong team offering end-to-end services through the Power of One, from comprehensive data analytic services, technological implementations, technology consulting, to programmatic media buying and data-driven creativity.

Kindred Group's founder, Michal Nýdrle has been appointed to the Publicis Groupe Czech Republic's management board and will take on a newly-created role of Digital & Technology Officer where he will lead all the digital assets and teams across the company.

Jarek Ziebinski, CEO, Publicis Groupe Northern & Central Europe, said: "Following the implementation of Publicis Groupe's country model and in support of The Power of One, we're embarking on the next phase of Publicis' transformation in this region.  Kindred Group will bring its strong, local and highly-creative digital enterprise to strengthen Publicis Groupe's specialized and integrated end-to-end offering. Thanks to the leadership of Publicis Groupe Czech Republic CEO Tomas Varga, our team in Prague has built a successful track record in recent years. I'm delighted that Kindred Group has agreed to join forces with us and I am confident that this union will help us add greater value to our clients and foster growth in our businesses locally as well as across the region."

Michal Nýdrle, Founder of Kindred Group, commented: "To be a part of a global network as strong as Publicis Groupe represents a wonderful opportunity for Kindred Group's to advance on its ambition to become the best partner for digital transformation and online media. I see a lot of synergies and am confident that working together will bring more business and growth. Nothing speaks more loudly than our commitment to growing this business together than the fact that the current Kindred Group partners will continue to be a key part of the organization after the acquisition."

For more information, please, contact:
Karen Lim | M: +33 620 26 7573 | E: karen.lim@publicisone.com

About Publicis Groupe - The Power of One
Publicis Groupe [Euronext Paris FR0000130577, CAC 40] is a global leader in marketing, communication, and digital transformation, driven through the alchemy of creativity and technology. Publicis Groupe offers its clients seamless access to its tools and expertise through modular offering. Publicis Groupe is organized across four Solutions hubs: Publicis Communications (Publicis Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi, Leo Burnett, BBH, Marcel, Fallon, MSL, Prodigious), Publicis Media (Starcom, Zenith, Spark Foundry, Blue 449, Performics, Digitas), Publicis.Sapient (SapientRazorfish & Sapient Consulting) and Publicis Health. Present in over 100 countries, Publicis Groupe employs nearly 80,000 professionals. 
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