S4Capital's MediaMonks merges with WhiteBalance and plans to double India presence
S4Capital, Sir Martin Sorrell’s post-WPP “peanut” is growing, with its flagship brand MediaMonks merging with Delhi-based content creation and production company WhiteBalance.
S4Capital has been rapidly scaling up the capabilities of MediaMonks with a series of mergers. The booming Indian market is of specific strategic importance with this deal expanding upon its Bangalore office and appointment of Poran Malani as director for India.
The group acquires an art content studio as well as in-house film, 3D and post-production capabilities. It swells the team by 50, and the group says it will look to double the Indian presence in the next “six months”.
Sir Martin Sorrell, executive chairman S4Capital, said: "India is a country very close to my heart – one built on a heritage of creativity, and characterised by a vibrant culture. As you can imagine, I’m delighted to continue to expand into this fast-growing market, offering a wealth of talent and significant growth opportunities, and the merger with WhiteBalance is the next step for us to build a leading creative content business here. At the same time we’re strengthening our position in the APAC region – ever more important – as India continues its trajectory to become the most populous country on earth.”
Robert Godinho, founder and chief executive of WhiteBalance, added: "WhiteBalance is a close-knit family of artists, designers and visual storytellers. Our dream is to put a ding in the universe by creating internationally recognised work from our home, India. Having worked with the world’s leading media organisations, we’re incredibly excited that our journey has led us to join forces with MediaMonks. We’re looking forward to bringing the same professionalism to customising creative solutions for our clients in the APAC region.”
MediaMonks co-founder and executive director Wesley ter Haar earlier this week told The Drum how AI and machine learning can help take the heavy-lifting out of creative – something that’s going to be all the more vital as content demands and platforms increase.
S4Capital was established by Sorrell in May 2018.