Omnicom acquires Brazil ad, marketing firm Grupo ABC

Omnicom Group said Monday that its DDB Worldwide division has acquired Grupo ABC, the largest marketing communications and advertising company in Brazil. 

"Grupo ABC is widely acknowledged as an outstanding company with impressive creative work and expertise in a broad range of disciplines," Omnicom Group President and CEO John Wren said. “Over the years, Grupo ABC have been great partners of Omnicom and their depth of talent will strengthen our business capabilities not only in Brazil but around the world."

Grupo ABC is known for its creative agencies, which offer a wide variety of services, such as CRM, digital, events, promotions and public relations.

"This is a world of disruption, scale and innovation, and Omnicom will empower our companies to compete in times of extraordinary technological changes,” Grupo ABC CEO Guga Valente said.

Grupo ABC, founded in 2002 by Nizan Guanaes and Valente, also owns DM9 among other specialized advertising and marketing agencies. 

"This partnership will further unite two companies that have long held the same values and creative ambitions," DDB Worldwide CEO Chuck Brymer said. "I have known Nizan and Guga for more than a decade and have sincerely admired their success and influence both in and out of Brazil. It is a tremendous addition to both DDB and Omnicom and we are excited at the opportunity to utilize our combined assets to help our clients generate growth."