News

Commarco, one of the leading holding companies for marketing communications in the German-speaking world, will in future be part of the world-leading WPP network. This will open up new international possibilities for the Commarco Group agencies, which include prestigious brands such as Scholz & Friends, deepblue networks, gkk DialogGroup and United Visions. Commarco has until now been supported by the financial investor Cognetas, its majority shareholder. The WPP parent company will take a 100% shareholding in Commarco once approval under competition law has been secured. The parties have agreed to keep the purchase price confidential.

Christian Tiedemann, Co-CEO of Commarco, says: “We can look back on a very successful time with Cognetas. Our collaboration has seen revenues nearly double. Acquisitions in dialogue marketing, PR and digital have widened our offering, and our company is fit to tackle the challenges of the future. We are looking forward to continuing this success story with WPP.”

Frank-Michael Schmidt, Commarco Co-CEO, declares: “Following the successful Cognetas era, entering the WPP world opens the doors to the next level in our company’s development. Combining with WPP, the global number one, will provide a whole new universe of international possibilities, both for our clients and for our employees. Commarco’s German service range will also be broadened by top-class specialist expertise. With this step, we are reinforcing Commarco’s position as the first choice for blue-chip clients in the German-speaking world.”

The nucleus of Commarco is the advertising agency Scholz & Friends, founded in 1981. In 2003, Cognetas formed Scholz & Friends Holding, which became Commarco in 2008. Together with the management, it purchased the then listed company Scholz & Friends AG, whose majority shareholder was Cordiant plc. In the Cognetas era from 2003 to 2011, Commarco almost doubled group revenue from EUR 69 million to EUR 133 million. Co-CEOs Frank-Michael Schmidt and Christian Tiedemann have been at the helm of Commarco since 2008.

Commarco is today one of the leading holding companies for communication and marketing services agencies in the German-speaking world. The Commarco umbrella encompasses more than 25 agencies, spanning the entire range of communication services. The Commarco agencies occupy leading positions in the dialogue marketing, public relations, design and event marketing disciplines, and also in national and international creative rankings.