Dentsu India acquires 80% stake in Webchutney!

The Dentsu India Group has announced that it has acquired an 80% stake in Webchutney, one of India’s leading and widely-awarded digital agencies. With around 200 employees across offices in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, Webchutney has been credited with developing award winning and memorable digital experiences for some of the biggest brands in the country, many of them of global repute like Airtel, Unilever, MasterCard, Coca-Cola, Bacardi Martini, Budweiser, ITC, Marico, Madura Garments, Titan, Bajaj, Reliance Retail and Saint Gobain.

The work done by the agency has been awarded at various domestic and international events over the years including Adfest, Goa Fest (Creative Abbys), Yahoo! Big Idea Chair Awards, Campaign India Digital Media Awards, IAMAI Indian Digital Awards and Olive Crown Awards among other prominent recognitions.

Founded by Sidharth Rao and Sudesh Samaria in 1999, Webchutney boasts an impressive client roster and some of the most recognized digital work over the last few years spanning web design, social media, mobile and experiential digital advertising. Rahul Nanda, President, Mobile Initiatives, joined the agency in 2005 as Partner and Chief Operating Officer. The agency will continue to operate independently under the management control of its current leadership.

Sidharth Rao, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, Webchutney, commented, “In Dentsu and Rohit Ohri, we have found a partner who is willing to invest in and cultivate our passion to provide path breaking digital creative services to our clients. We are thrilled to be working with such a strong global leadership and are ready to enter a new phase of our growth. We could not have made it this far without the unfaltering support of our clients, our leadership teams and the talented bunch of team members. I am also personally grateful to Sarbvir Singh who has been my mentor for the last five years and his team at Capital18 for ensuring that we shared a wonderful journey together.”

Sudesh Samaria, National Creative Director and Co-founder, Webchutney, said, “The Dentsu network is ‘future obsessed’ and that fits in perfectly with what we do here at Webchutney. We’re always trying to be ahead of the curve and we love people, ideas and technology that will help us and our clients get there faster. So in that sense both from a philosophy point of view as well as synergies across capabilities, we believe we’ve found the ideal growth partner in Dentsu.”

Speaking on the new partnership that strengthens the Dentsu India Group’s digital offerings and will expand its footprint in the space, Rohit Ohri, Executive Chairman, Dentsu India Group, said, “Dentsu is the first global network that’s being built out in the post-digital era. We believe we’re building the network of the future. Our partnership with Webchutney is another step in that direction.  We’re now going to be able to put world class digital solutions in the centre of our offering to our clients. I’m delighted to have Webchutney, India’s No. 1 digital agency, as a part of the Dentsu India Group.”