Lewis Silkin has advised Havas Group on the acquisition of award-winning digital agency Search Laboratory
06 April 2022
Lewis Silkin has advised its longstanding client, Havas Group, on the acquisition of Search Laboratory, an award winning integrated digital agency with offices in Leeds, London, Austin and New York.
Search Laboratory will be integrated into Havas Media Group, reporting into the UK business as a core part of its offering alongside Havas Media, Havas Entertainment and Havas Market.
The acquisition further strengthens the media group’s digital marketing and data capabilities both within the UK and internationally, as well as enabling it to tap into a new talent pool outside of its existing offices in London and Manchester.
Founded in 2005, Search Laboratory is one of only a handful of Google Marketing Platform Sales Partners trusted to offer expert implementation, training and ongoing support for the platform’s advanced suite of tools. Its 150 experts deliver profitable, data-driven marketing campaigns across 35 countries to some of the world’s leading brands.
The Lewis Silkin team was led by corporate partner Paul Rajput, with principal support from Corporate and Tax colleagues Barnaby Stokes, Mariem Al-Khafaji, Kathy Granby and Matthew Rowbotham, and Digital, Commerce & Creative colleague Francesca Mack.
Commenting on the deal, Lewis Silkin’s Paul Rajput stated:
“It was a pleasure working with Darren Todhunter and the rest of the Havas Group team, and we are delighted to have worked on this substantial acquisition for them, which further strengthens their digital marketing and data capabilities. The Lewis Silkin tier 1 ranked M&A team is second to none when it comes to partnering with clients to help implement M&A transactions in the advertising, marketing, communications and technology sectors.”
Commenting on the deal, Darren Todhunter, CFO of Havas Media UK, said:
“Paul and Lewis Silkin’s M&A team have supported the wider Havas Group on numerous acquisitions and thus we placed our trust in them again for this Havas Media Group transaction. Once again, their professionalism and deep industry knowledge were instrumental in completing this transaction seamlessly and in a tight timeframe. We are fortunate to have them as our trusted advisors and will no doubt turn to them again for future acquisitions.”