LLYC has reached an agreement to buy CHINA, the top prize-winning advertising agency at the Eficacia 2020 Awards and the fourth-highest valued agency among clients in Spain, according to the latest study by Scopen. The operation forms part of the consultancy firm’s ambitious growth project, which seeks to double in size over the next five years.
The three founding partners of CHINA (Marta Aguirrezabal, Rafa Antón and Pedro Calderón) will maintain a stake in CHINA – given that LLYC is buying a 70% share – and will continue to run the agency, which will operate independently.
With this acquisition, LLYC is strengthening its commitment to creativity as a key lever for business development alongside technology, just as they are key transformative factors for clients.
Complementary nature
LLYC and CHINA have a highly focused approach to the main challenge being faced by brands today: the need to be more relevant in society through stories that bring added value in leading conversation territories.
With origins that lie in different disciplines, the visions upheld by LLYC and CHINA come into alignment in terms of how they respond to this need for relevance: through creative solutions produced to impeccable standards that engage with society, generate conversation, value and distinctiveness for brands and businesses.
Today, creativity is one of the main priorities for all kinds of organizations, not only in terms of marketing and advertising, but also in terms of other disciplines on which LLYC has been working for many years, such as employee relations or demonstrating a commitment to society, among others.
LLYC has already taken huge strides in this direction over recent years. This takeover of CHINA, with the experience and success already garnered by its team, will help LLYC to promote these creative disciplines quicker in every market where it does business. Meanwhile, thanks to the LLYC network, CHINA will be able to take part in multinational projects or with the most relevant brands in the countries where it operates.
José Antonio Llorente, Founding Partner and Chairman of LLYC, believes that “we are strengthening our offer to clients with CHINA in line with a market demand that is increasingly more focused on service and solution integration, combining strategic vision, creativity and a smart use of technology”.
“Since founding CHINA 11 years ago, we have had some wonderful experiences. Now with LLYC, we have a tremendous opportunity to continue further bolstering our team and the work we perform for our customers. We could not ask for a better travel companion”, comments Marta Aguirrezabal, Founding Partner and Executive Director of CHINA.
Pedro Calderón, Founding Partner and Executive Director of CHINA, believes that “both LLYC and CHINA have been doing serious, constant and consistent work for some time now on transforming realities for the brands and businesses of our clients. By joining forces and talents now, we are sure this will enable us to enhance and strengthen our teams and the work we do. This is a new era that CHINA is looking forward to with great excitement and passion, and with a view to doing more unequalled work of a wider scope”.
“We admire the work CHINA does for brands, its creativity is truly transformative, and they produce results of impeccable quality. I am sure that, together, we will make highly relevant contributions to our clients”, said Luisa García, Partner and CEO of LLYC Europe.
“We always say that curiosity is what really motivates anyone dedicated to creativity. We now begin a new era with some certainties, but also with the pleasant feeling that things will happen that we have no idea of yet. That is always fun”, says Rafa Antón, Founding Partner and Creative and Strategy Director for CHINA.
LLYC has extensive experience in company acquisition and team integration. Since 2015, it has successfully taken over Impossible Tellers (Spain, 2015), S/A Comunicaçao (Brazil, 2015), EDF (USA, 2015), Arenalia (Spain, 2018), Diplolicy (Spain, 2018), Factor C (Chile, 2020) and APACHE (Spain, 2021).
LLYC received advice from Scopen and EY for this operation. CHINA was advised by CDI Global Iberia and Ceca Magán Abogados.
