The Digital Agency M&A industry is becoming increasingly global with also more traction from Private Equity buyers. When looking at type of buyers we see that the majority of the targets (56% in 2022) are acquired by financially backed strategic buyers.

Consolidation is strong in the Benelux digital agency market with iO (24 acquisitions) and Happy Horizon (23 acquisitions) standing out in number of total acquisitions in the Benelux (followed by Ace and 4NG with ~10 acquisitions each). All platforms have their differences in aspects such as client focus, integration, brand strategy and deal structure for acquisitions. Estimated sizes of top 5 platforms active in the Benelux (employees across all countries):

MediaMonks (backed by S4 Capital, UK) – 7,500 employees
DEPT (backed by The Carlyle Group, US) – 4,000 employees
iO (backed by Waterland, BE) – 2,200 employees
Happy Horizon (backed by MG Partners, NL) – 850 employees
4NG (backed by NPM Capital, NL) – 460 employees

For more information and our full Digital Agency 2023 report, please contact Ron Belt or Maurits Odekerken.