Initial public offering
Dentsu was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2001. During the initial public offering of Dentsu, in December 2001, a trader at UBS Warburg, the Swiss investment bank, sent an order to sell 610,000 shares in this company at ¥6 each, while he intended to sell 16 shares at ¥600,000. The bank lost £71 million.[8]
Dentsu's sales are more than double its nearest competitor, Hakuhodo or ADK, in the Japanese market, thanks to the company's origins as a media representative during the early part of the 20th century, producing the first newspaper advertisements as well as the first television commercials in Japan.
Geneon Entertainment
In July 2003, Dentsu acquired Pioneer LDC from Pioneer Corporation and renamed it to Geneon Entertainment, while its North American division, Pioneer Entertainment, was renamed to Geneon USA.[9]
On November 12, 2008, Dentsu announced that it was selling 80.1% of its ownership in Geneon to NBCUniversal's Universal Pictures International Entertainment (UPI), who planned to merge the company with its Universal Pictures Japan division to form a new company.[10][11] The merger closed on February 1, 2009.
Aegis Group
On 12 July 2012, Dentsu agreed to acquire British-based Aegis Group plc in a cash deal worth $4.9 billion. The deal was completed in March 2013.[12] Dentsu Aegis Network, managed all Aegis Media work and non-Japanese Dentsu operations worldwide.[13] In September 2020 Dentsu Group Inc. announced that its international business Dentsu Aegis Network will operate under the dentsu brand. This simplification has seen three lines of business established across media, customer relationship management, and creative. The business is registered as Dentsu International Limited with UK Companies House in October 2020.[14]
Dentsu Ventures
In April 2015, Dentsu announced the launch of a corporate venture capital fund, Dentsu Ventures, to provide companies across the U.S., Europe, and Asia with capital and business support. In the same month, Dentsu Ventures Global Fund I was launched with a total capital of five billion yen.[15]
In May 2021, Dentsu Ventures Global Fund II was launched with a total capital of ten billion yen.[16]
Dentsu Ventures investments include Cheddar, Clear Labs, Exo, GRAIL, Overtime, OpenWeb, Survios, Twist Bioscience, Tynker, and Upside Foods.[17]
Dentsu Anime Solutions
In July 2023, Dentsu announced that it had founded its own anime business, Dentsu Anime Solutions, to boost its presence in the anime industry.[18]
RCKT
In August 2023, it was announced Dentsu had acquired the Berlin-headquartered digital-first brand, communications and creative agency, RCKT. The RCKT brand would be retained during a period of integration, becoming known as “RCKT, a Dentsu Creative Company”.[19]
GlobalMind
In 2018 Dentsu acquired GlobalMind, a LATAM based digital first agency based out of Argentina and Miami, USA. GlobalMind was the #1 independent media agency in LATAM owner of iColic, a creative agency which helped GlobalMind on the endeavour of conquering Latin America. Andy Berman and Marcelo Montefiore were the co-CEOs of The agency until they sold it to Dentsu.
