Schbang acquires Dutch design agency Addikt to form combined entity with turnover Rs 300 cr

The independent homegrown advertising agency— Schbang— has acquired Amsterdam-based design agency— Addikt— to become AddiktSchbang and offer fully integrated marketing solutions.

Securing a strong agreement, Schbang has acquired 50% of the shares with a combination of call-and-put options and aims to work together for the next 10 years.

Founded in 2015, Schbang closed the FY24 at Rs 225 crore in terms of revenue— up from Rs 175 crore in FY23 on a consolidated basis and is close to achieving Rs 275 crore. Addikt, on the other hand, is currently running at about 2 million euros annually (around Rs 20 crore) and aims to grow to 4 million euros within two years, with the expansion into the Indian market.

“We see Addikt adding a reasonable top line to Schbang— about 8%. We also see an India hub for the Netherlands team being built over the next few months,” Harshil Karia, MD and Founder of Schbang told Storyboard18, in an exclusive conversation.

Additionally, the agency is expecting its UK set up to be on a 750,000 pounds-a-year run-rate, soon.

“AddiktSchbang will also be able to help build more business in the UK because of the depth of the portfolio and the credibility and the experience,” Karia shared.

Going forward, in terms of its global ambitions, the creative, media and technology transformation agency expects to grow into Africa and the Middle East.

Addikt, which claims to have over 20 years of experience in the European market, has worked with brands like AkzoNobel, Rabobank, Prada X Armani, StarSports IPL and Booking.com. For its part, Schbang has already contributed to brand identities for the likes of PhonePe, Tata Motors, and Maruti Suzuki.

Schbang currently has over 150 brands on retainer and looking to add 12 more brands by the end of the current fiscal.

Karia further noted that the acquisition will enable the agency to offer the best of global design to Indian corporates looking to scale internationally.

"The Dutch design influence from Addikt elevates our capabilities, empowering us to create culturally immersive experiences, such as the visual takeover for Pride Amsterdam or Fabrique Lumiere’s "Girl with a Pearl Earring" exhibit. We foresee similar innovation in Indian contexts, like Diwali or Ganesh pandals- where we can blend tradition with global creative excellence,” he highlighted.

Barry Schwarz, Co-founder of Addikt, shared that he is hoping for retainer relationships to expand significantly with the partnership, which will further enhance the base of its international clients.

“For our international clients, we see that we often have to turn down work with international clients in areas such as retainerships because talent in the Dutch market is pretty hard to come by. So, we definitely see those retainer relationships expanding significantly with our ability to deliver more. Apart from Amsterdam combined with the London office, we want to be working more for the entire European market or even global clients; and then from India, we can target Asian accounts,” he added.

Addikt's current client base is mainly Dutch and Indian-based with some US clients, at present.

With the entry to the Indian market, Schwarz expects Addikt’s revenue to grow 100% in the next two years and subsequently to get stabilised at 20%.

The agency offers services mostly around branding, content creation, storytelling, and experiential design and events. With Schbang now, it is hoping to add a layer of technology.

Upon being asked if Schbang would continue to be on the lookout for another acquisition, Karia shared that the agency remains in an 'exploratory phase'.

“While we explore potential avenues- whether through an acquisition or another model- we remain proudly independent and homegrown. Acquisition is not a strategy unless it makes sense for us. We’re not the largest player in this market, but we have a clear vision of building a global Indian company. As a small business with big ambitions, the agency is focused on achieving this vision without taking external investments for now,” he shared.

At present, the agency employs more than 1,300 professionals and has seven agencies including Django Digital, SchbangQ, 88GB and Spek Digital, as network partners.