Tony Walford is pleased to have been invited as a guest on the Agency Works A-Game webinar on 19th September, where he’ll be discussing the key drivers of agency value with the inimitable Jay Neale. Register here Every agency owner thinks about growth. Some dream of scaling, others of a future sale, and many of securing investment to take their business to the next level. But here’s the challenge: what creates value in an agency isn’t always what owners think. A big client win, a glossy award, or rapid revenue growth might feel like success – but to acquirers and investors, they’re only part of the story. The truth is, financial value comes down to a handful of critical drivers. Miss them, and your agency may struggle to attract the right buyer or partner. Nail them, and you’ll open the door to investment, acquisition, or a successful exit. Tony Walford, partner of Green Square and one of the leading M&A and corporate advisory voices in the marketing communications, media and tech sectors, is chatting to Jay Neale. Tony advises agencies on what makes them attractive to acquirers, how to navigate the planning process, and where the market is heading next. They’ll be discussing the key drivers of financial value every agency needs to get right, what acquirers are really looking for and recent trends around growth.
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S4 confirms MSQ merger talks – here’s why a deal could tempt both parties. Barry Dudley writes in The Drum
Barry Dudley of Green Square dissects the fledgling talks between S4 Capital and MSQ Partners, exploring strategic fit, the market forces driving the potential deal and what it could mean for Sir Martin Sorrell’s “new-age” marketing group after a turbulent few years. S4 Capital, Sir Martin Sorrell’s ‘new-age’ digital marketing group, has confirmed that it is in very preliminary deal talks with MSQ Partners, the creative and technology agency network that is majority-owned by US private equity firm One Equity Partners (OEP). The potential deal – which S4 says would be structured as an acquisition of MSQ by S4 Capital rather than a takeover of S4 – comes after a bruising period for the group. S4’s share price has fallen more than 90% from its peak only a few years ago. The current market capitalization sits at around £140m, a fraction of the multibillion pound valuation it once enjoyed. I’ve heard rumors and seen reports of other interested parties in the past, including the likes of Stagwell, New Mountain Capital and Accenture. I suspect Sir Martin has had many conversations come at him, or indeed he has sought them. Probably even more are incoming right now.
Two different growth stories
S4 Capital was founded in 2018 after Sorrell’s high-profile exit from WPP. Built on aggressive M&A, it focused on digital content production, programmatic advertising and data-driven marketing through acquisitions such as MediaMonks and MightyHive. Its client base reads like a tech-sector who’s-who: Alphabet, Amazon, Meta to name just a few. However, that narrow tech focus has been a double-edged sword. When the sector tightened budgets and many reallocated spend towards AI investments, S4’s revenues took a hit – compounded by accounting missteps, economic headwinds and rising interest rates. MSQ Partners, on the other hand, offers a broader spread of clients – more than 250, including Unilever, Haleon, Lego, P&G and Booking.com – across consumer goods, healthcare, financial services and B2B. It operates through a decentralized network of specialist agencies spanning advertising, PR, design, digital, and tech. Since being acquired by OEP in 2023, MSQ has invested in integrated, creative-plus-tech delivery models. We recently advised Precious Media, a connected commerce digital agency, on its sale to MSQ. So how could they fit: Complementary client bases – S4 is over-indexed to tech; MSQ brings balance through FMCG, healthcare, and finance. Capability cross-sell – MSQ’s creative brand-building could bolster S4’s digital execution; S4’s programmatic and data expertise could sharpen MSQ’s digital performance offering. Geographic scale – S4’s US and APAC strength could mesh with MSQ’s European roots, giving a broader footprint without heavy duplication. AI positioning – Both have leaned into AI narratives, but a combined group could pool their R&D resources.
Market backdrop
The marketing services sector is undergoing its biggest structural shift since the holding-company era of the 80s and 90s. AI is reshaping creative workflows, media buying and data analytics. Clients are consolidating their agency rosters, looking for faster, integrated delivery. The network groups have been re-engineering their own businesses to face this new way of working, with WPP recently merging its media offer under one brand. All are focussed on, and investing in, AI to help them deliver across media, creative and processes. But these are big legacy firms… and big ships can find it notoriously difficult to change course quickly. This has created fertile ground for private equity–backed roll-ups and mergers of complementary mid-scale networks. We’ve seen a plethora of PE firms coming into the market and appetite isn’t abating. For OEP, combining MSQ with S4 could create another top-tier independent rival, not only to snap at the heels of the mega groups, but also some of the smaller challenger brands and the other PE-backed indies. It could also give MSQ more muscle in terms of its own future expansion, both geographically and in terms of capability infills it may need.
Fascinating unknowns
Will OEP take it off the stock market? I suspect it will, not least because it removes that historical peak – which was arguably a significant over-valuation – which will otherwise be a benchmark that continues to be referenced under the current listing. That said, maintaining the listing could open up other options in terms of financing future acquisitions. And where will Sir Martin end up if this goes through? His voting control and personal stake mean no deal happens without him seeing a clear path for himself. Wherever things go, he looks set for another defining chapter in his career. Or will he head for the beach, which is where I am right now… Read more
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Green Square advises Precious Media on its acquisition by MSQ
We are delighted to have advised Precious Media (“Precious”), a connected commerce digital agency based in London, on its acquisition by MSQ, the next-generation creative, technology and media company that is one of the world’s fastest-growing marketing groups. Precious will initially retain its brand and transition to MSQ’s M3 Labs over time. Established in 2007, Precious works at the intersection of content and commerce, leveraging strategy and insights to join up clients’ digital ecosystems and forge lasting connections between brands and their customers. Precious helps drive sales internationally for clients including Diageo, Hilton, Unilever and MARS. Launched last year, MSQ’s M3 Labs helps businesses Make, Manage and Measure their marketing content, delivering culturally relevant content faster and more effectively. The business has become a key part of MSQ’s end-to-end offer. Precious and M3 Labs will collaborate closely under a shared leadership structure to immediately bring joined-up thinking to clients. Collectively, M3 Labs’ team of 130 will work across London, Germany, Singapore, New York, Dubai and KSA with offshore hubs in Spain and India. Together they will deliver future-focused, always-on personalised content at scale and speed across all channels, backed by MSQ’s broader data, media and digital experience teams. Under the new M3 Labs structure, Chairman Mark Crampton and Managing Director Rebecca Vickery will be joined by Precious’ founder Peter Christiansen, reporting into MSQ’s executive director, Kate Howe.
Kate Howe, Executive Director at MSQ commented:
“The acquisition of Precious brings real depth in global production, tech-enabled products and e-commerce with experienced innovative industry leadership. Precious adds significant e-commerce and behavioural experience and will enable us to connect the dots even more than before with shared clients so that we are aligning brand profile with sales impact.”
Peter Christiansen, Founder and Managing Director of Precious, commented:
“The opportunity to join a bigger team with like-minded people that bring other skills to the table to benefit our clients, while retaining what makes Precious the unique agency it is, made this a really interesting proposition. MSQ is a great fit for entrepreneurial agencies to grow and collaborate, and I look forward to working with the enlarged M3 Labs team to the benefit of our business, our people and our clients.” “From our initial discovery sessions with Green Square, they have been at our side to guide us through the complexities and challenges of the process, which has been an exciting and insightful learning experience. Green Square’s dedication, attention to detail and positive attitude, along with their ability to focus on what really mattered, has been nothing short of outstanding! I’m truly grateful.”
Nick Berry, Partner at Green Square, commented:
“Getting to know Peter and the Precious team has been a fantastic experience. Precious’ client-centric approach and commitment to excellence are infectious. The continued growth of the business and the high esteem their clients hold them in are equally impressive.” “The strategic alignment with MSQ has been clear from the outset, and the potential benefit for clients is exciting. We look forward to seeing the continued success of both parties during the next stage of their journey.” Precious Media MSQ
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