MAM
Aegis Media swallows India’s Communicate 2
MUMBAI: Aegis Group has made its second acquistion in India. The UK-based agency snapped up Communicate 2, a performance marketing and search agency in India, to strengthen its digital presence in India.
Communicate 2‘s gross assets till March-end stood at Rs 129.9 million.
Pursuing targeted acquisitions, Aegis Media had acquired a majority stake in Doosra Brand Communications to add creative capability to its India outfit.
In the recent deal, Aegis has decided to merge Communicate 2 with iProspect India‘s existing operations as it seeks to strengthen its network in key cities across India and provide additional service capabilities for its clients. The agency will now be known as iProspectCommunicate 2.
“The combined employee strength will be about 150 people,” said Aegis Media chairman India and CEO South East Asia Ashish Bhasin.
Communicate 2 is a specialist performance marketing agency which focuses on search marketing, digital strategy consulting, social media and digital content production.
Vivek Bhargava will continue to lead this merged entity as CEO. “We are very happy to welcome Communicate 2, led by Vivek Bhargava, to the Aegis Media family. Communicate 2 is India‘s pioneering Search and Performance marketing agency and Vivek is a well known guru in this field. I believe that search will be the fastest growing part of our industry for the foreseeable future and as part of the iProspect network, Communicate 2 will continue to be the undisputed leader in this area,” said Bhasin.
Vivek will also join the Aegis Media India executive council. “We look forward to seeing iProspectCommunicate 2 going from strength to strength,” Bhasin added.
The acquisition, which has just been completed, is in line with the Aegis‘ strategy of increasing its digital profile and capability in faster growing regions.
Aegis Media also runs Isobar in the digital space. The interests of Isobar and iProspect, however, are very different. While Isobar is a global digital marketing network that is into web development, app development, media buying and planning for digital medium, iProspect is a global digital performance agency. iProspect helps brands maximise their online marketing RoI through paid search, social media strategy, search engine optimisation, display, mobile marketing, comparison shopping engines, conversion optimisation, attribution modelling and management, and other related services.
The Indian digital ad industry is sized at around Rs 24 billion and has a huge growth opportunity. Currently, Aegis generates close to 12 per cent of its India revenues from digital. “In the Indian digital ad pie, Aegis‘ digital agencies Isobar and iProspect constitute around 3.25 per cent. This works out to Rs 780 million,” a source said.
Originally established in 1997, Communicate 2 handles clients like Tata Consultancy Services, Cleartrip, ICICI Lombard and HDFC Bank. It has offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Pune and employs over 130 employees.
In July this year, Japanese media conglomerate Dentsu agreed to buy out UK-based Aegis Media Group for a whopping $4.9 billion.
Also read:
Dentsu to acquire Aegis for $4.9 bn
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI: Jubilant FoodWorks Limited has landed in a tax tussle after receiving a GST demand of Rs 47.5 crore from the office of the additional commissioner of CGST and central excise in Thane, Maharashtra.
The order, issued under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, relates to an alleged incorrect classification of certain services under the category of restaurant services. According to the tax authorities, this classification resulted in a short payment of goods and services tax for the period between the financial years 2019-20 and 2021-22.
The demand includes Rs 47.5 crore in GST along with an equal amount as penalty, in addition to applicable interest. The order was received by the company on March 13, 2026.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, the company said it disagrees with the order and believes its arguments were not adequately considered.
The company is preparing to challenge the decision and plans to file an appeal. It added that once the redressal process is complete, the demand is likely to be dropped.
Despite the sizeable figure attached to the notice, the company said it does not expect any material impact on its financials, operations or other activities.
The disclosure was signed by Suman Hegde, EVP and chief financial officer, who confirmed that the company received the order at 19:06 IST on March 13 and has already initiated steps to contest it.
The development places the quick service restaurant major in the middle of a tax debate that could hinge on how certain restaurant-linked services are classified under GST rules. For now, the company appears ready to take the matter from the tax office to the appeals desk.
