Omnicom seals record-breaking $835 million deal for Flywheel Digital

Omnicom will acquire Flywheel Digital, the digital commerce division of Ascential, at a net cash purchase price of approximately $835 million. Flywheel Digital offers a range of services that empower brands to enhance their sales across numerous digital marketplaces, including major platforms like Amazon, Walmart, and Alibaba.

With a workforce comprising over 2,000 professionals, Flywheel delivers services related to retail commerce operations, media execution, and market intelligence to more than 4,500 brands. These services are complemented by their technological platform, known as the Flywheel Commerce Cloud.

Omnicom's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, John Wren, expressed that global e-commerce sales are anticipated to surge by 50%, reaching approximately $7 trillion by 2025. He emphasized that the acquisition of Flywheel greatly expands Omnicom's presence and influence in the rapidly growing digital commerce and retail media sectors, which are among the fastest-growing segments of the industry. Wren underscored the company's commitment to seamlessly integrating their services across various areas, including retail and brand media, digital and in-store commerce, and customer relationship management, with the ultimate goal of delivering exceptional outcomes for their clients.

Over the course of the last eight years, Flywheel has diligently developed cutting-edge digital commerce solutions, integrating them into a proprietary platform featuring a unified user interface. Today, the Flywheel Commerce Cloud platform manages tens of billions in product sales and billions of dollars in advertising expenditure annually across digital marketplaces. By merging Flywheel Commerce Cloud's product and transaction data with Omnicom's audience and behavioral data, unparalleled insights and analytics will be provided to clients.

Under Omnicom's ownership, Flywheel will function as a dedicated Practice Area, led by Duncan Painter, who currently serves as the CEO of Ascential. Painter emphasized the synergy between Flywheel Commerce Cloud's product and transaction data and Omnicom's audience and behavioral data, outlining their ambition to offer a comprehensive suite of services that surpasses the competition. Their mission is to empower clients to automate, optimize, and assess their digital commerce and media spending within an increasingly complex marketplace.

The acquisition is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2024, contingent on approval from Ascential shareholders, regulatory clearances, and customary closing conditions.