By Meenakshi Verma Ambwani

Copyright thehindubusinessline

Back in 2003, ad man Sandeep Goyal had helped Japanese ad network Dentsu enter India and West Asia through a joint venture with his Mogae Consultants. In 2011, he sold his 26 per cent stake for roughly ₹260 crore. Now, the question is will he be instrumental in helping Dentsu exit India?

There has been a lot of speculation around Dentsu’s international business, with some reports saying the Japanese network wants to sell it all off, and has appointed Nomura Securities and Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley to do the due diligence.Dentsu itself issued a statement saying it was “not selling” but exploring “strategic alternatives”, which observers interpret as seeking a partner.

Whatever the contours of the deal, Goyal, who is now chairman of ad agency Rediffusion, which he acquired through his Mogae Consultants in 2021, says he is “seriously” interested. Speaking to businessline, Goyal said: “We are happy to look at the India business. We are equally happy to look at India and Middle East business if it is available at a very good price. We are open to various options. We will make one serious attempt at it.”

size of the deal

Asked about the size of the deal and where the funds for the same would come from, he said: “Money is not a problem. We are in advanced conversations with bankers to raise funds.”

But is Dentsu’s struggling international business, which it operates through units such as Merkle, Carat, iProspect and Dentsu Creative, worth a deal? Especially as Goyal himself admits that the agency of today will not look like the agency we will see 10 years ahead.

An industry veteran points out that an acquisition or a merger in the advertising space today makes sense only because of the clients the network brings or the talent. Dentsu India is currently attractive because of its large cohort of Japanese clients. But will they stay if Dentsu exits? Moreover, Dentsu has added a lot of flab in India, with a series of acquisitions.

Others feel that if Dentsu is seeking a strategic partner, one of the consulting companies with deeper pockets, will be better placed than Goyal, especially as a lot of the ad agency business today is non-creative. Dentsu India’s vision is that 50 per cent of its business will come from customer experience by 2030.

On the other hand, B ‘Nary’ Naryanaswamy, former data science consultant at Ipsos Research, feels that Goyal’s move is “fantastic”. As he says the international business of Dentsu has analytics and tech-driven units, such as Merkle and Carat, areas where the advertising business is heading towards along with AI-assisted creatives. Goyal himself is betting heavily on AI, and a few months ago, launched the Aesthetic Intelligence Lab, which is focussed on producing creatives using Gen AI. “It is a profitable business and we are now looking to scale it up. We are close to raising funds just for our AI entity,” said Goyal.

Published on September 30, 2025