Mid-market transactions. Local expertise. Global reach.

Yefira advised XPO Brands in their sale to Mountaingate Capital-backed The Mars Agency. That transaction was based on enterprise value and involved the payment of an upfront cash component as well as Units in the Delaware-based holding company. In mid-2024, The Mars Agency along with all its portfolio companies, including XPO Brands were rebranded into Mars United Commerce, which was subsequently acquired by Publicis Groupe. This transaction is valued at greater than US$600 million. This follows Publicis Groupe's acquisition of Epsilon and Profitero in this space and provides end-to-end commerce solutions for their clients. In the process, Yefira has established a strong relationship with Mountaingate Capital, which has a diverse range of investments in the consumer space, healthcare, manufacturing, distribution, and business service sectors. No doubt, our US members may have their own strong relationship with Mountaingate Capital, but if we can be of any assistance in developing a relationship with Mountaingate Capital or any of their portfolio companies, we would be happy to assist.

Yefira has advised Aleph Labs in the sale of the final tranche of shares to WPP. Our journey with Aleph started out in 2014 with an initial majority sale of shares to WPP, which Yefira followed on with buy-side advisory where we sourced, structured and executed 3 acquisitions in the region for Aleph to double the PBT from $4m to $8m. In the entirety of the 10 years with Yefira, Aleph Labs grew from SGD 1mm to SGD16mm of PBT. Yefira also structured two more sales of shares to WPP during this period, giving our Client an implied 8.25x on a much larger profit base.

Yefira Group is pleased to announce the successful acquisition of Sefiani Communications (https://sefiani.com.au/) by Clarity Global Group (https://clarity.global/). Founded in 1999, Sefiani is Australia's most awarded Corporate Reputation & Issues Management Agency that excels at solving complex business problems through strategic communications and connections, working with Boards, CEOs and CMOs. On the other side of the deal, Clarity is a fast-growing global digital marketing and communications agency group working with the world's most progressive, ambitious companies, using technology for positive impact. This acquisition is a crucial piece to Clarity's global expansion plan leveraging Sefiani's expertise and years of experience in the Australian market, while mutually beneficial for Sefiani to tap into Clarity global network/resources to further enhance their offering to their clients. Yefira Group acted as the sole advisor to Sefiani in the transaction.

Following a competitive process that brought together players from Europe and the US, the independent communication agency Why? Brand Design, based in Singapore and specialised in branding and design, joins the French group Lonsdale, which is consolidating its international footprint. This strategic acquisition marks a new phase in Lonsdale’s ambitious expansion plan and confirms the company’s desire to develop an integrated hub by major geographical area. After Paris and its hub dedicated to Europe, this direct presence in Singapore enables the company to serve the entire Asia Pacific zone, a key region for many of its international customers such as Bel, L’Oréal, Sanofi and Lagardère Travel Retail. Lonsdale now has 250 talents and a turnover of €30 million in 2022, 25% of which outside France (Asia, Middle East), with the goal to reach 40% by 2025. Cécile Ayed, Managing Director of Why? Brand Design, joins Lonsdale’s board as Partner.

Yefira Group is pleased to announce the successful acquisition of Australian Public Affairs Limited Partnership (https://www.hadvisorsapa.au/) by Havas SA (https://www.havas.com/). Founded in 1996, Australian Public Affairs is a public affairs agency operating nationally across regulated sectors including health, aged care, legal, nuclear, defence and space, schools and education, energy and resources, professional services, transport and infrastructure, property and construction, and technology and innovation. APA will become part of the H/Advisors business within Havas which is H/Advisors APA.

Yefira Group is pleased to announce that we have advised digital strategy consultancy, PENSO, on its sale to growth experience company, GrowthOps. The combination allows PENSO to add scale and capabilities to the business with operations across Asia, the Middle East, and Australia. The acquisition is part of an urgent and growing need for enterprises to improve their digital marketing, products and services, which fuels the demand for customer-led digital transformation. PENSO complements other companies in the GrowthOps group including independent creative agency, AJF, behavior change experts, Khemistry, and enhances capabilities of GoDigital and GrowthOps Asia.

Yefira facilitated the purchase of the experience design agency to global technology group Infosys to establish Wongdoody presence in Australia

Yefira successfully advised our client, retail activation agency XPO Brands, on their acquisition by Mountaingate Capital-backed global commerce marketing practice, The MARS Agency.