Sorrell's MediaMonks announces merger with India's White Balance

Martin Sorrell's S4Capital has announced that its global content practice MediaMonks has conditionally agreed to what it terms a merger with Delhi-based content creation and production company, WhiteBalance.

The deal, like all S4 Capital's mergers, is 50% cash and 50% S4 Capital stock, which makes the owners into major shareholders, according to Scott Spirit, S4's chief growth officer.

With a content studio and in-house film, 3D and post-production talent, WhiteBalance produces content including feature films, commercials and documentaries. 

With the deal, MediaMonks adds 50 experts to its team, with the intent of doubling the India business in the coming six months. MediaMonks will continue to invest to turn its previously opened content studio in Bangalore into a creative hub for Asia-Pacific while also adding to the team and studio facilities in Delhi.

Sir Martin Sorrell, executive chairman, S4Capital, who is on a visit to India, said, “India is a country very close to my heart—one built on a heritage of creativity, and characterised by a vibrant culture. This fast growing market offers a wealth of talent and significant growth opportunities, and the merger with WhiteBalance is the next step for us to build a leading creative content business here. At the same time we’re strengthening our position in the APAC region.”

Robert Godinho, founder & CEO, WhiteBalance, said, “Our dream is to put a ding in the universe by creating internationally recognised work from our home, India. Having worked with the world’s leading media organisations, we’re incredibly excited that our journey has led us to join forces with MediaMonks. We’re looking forward to bringing the same professionalism to customising creative solutions for our clients in the APAC region.”

Victor Knaap, global CEO, MediaMonks added, “We are happy to welcome a company this talented to the MediaMonks family. It's unbelievable how well our cultures match in terms of passion for creativity and quality. What MediaMonks can bring to the Indian market is merging the disciplines of film and tech, by inviting directors and developers to come together and produce world-class digital storytelling.”

Poran Malani, director, S4Capital India, said, “The opportunity for the S4Capital model in India is huge. India is globally recognised for its creativity and its leading-edge technology, making it the perfect place for integrating the two into a new service model. With operations in our current production hub in Bangalore, combined with the strength of WhiteBalance, bundling our forces in the pursuit of excellent fit-for-format content is an exciting prospect as we introduce our global network to this dynamic market and open it up to world-class digital work.”