TIDMSFOR

RNS Number : 9260Q

S4 Capital PLC

01 July 2022

S4 Capital plc

("S(4) Capital" or "the Company")

Combination with Social Media Marketing agency XX Artists, expanding its capabilities and client base in the core US market.

01 July, 2022 -- S(4) Capital plc (SFOR.L), the tech-led, new age/new era digital advertising and marketing services company, announces it has entered a conditional combination between XX Artists and Media.Monks , which significantly expands the capabilities of its Content practice. The combination augments its Social Media Marketing capabilities (Media.Monks was recently recognised by Campaign as their Global Social Media Agency of the Year) and expands its client base.

XX Artists was founded in 2018 by Kyle Kuhns and is an award-winning Social Media Marketing agency with a competitive talent edge. Headquartered in Los Angeles with a majority-female, majority-diverse team of 125 globally, XX Artists helps clients such as Google, YouTube, Logitech, and Ancestry.com formulate and execute their social and influencer content strategies. XX Artists also touts an industry-leading talent social practice, working with over 40 top musicians, actors, artists and public figures on their digital platforms.

In 2021, XX Artists generated Gross Profit in excess of $12m with growth of over 100%. XX Artists is experiencing continued strong growth heading into 2022, with a number of client wins and remit expansions that have resulted in YTD booked revenues well in excess of 2021's performance. As with the recent TheoremOne deal, the S(4) Capital stock component of the consideration is priced at GBP4.25.

Sir Martin Sorrell , S(4) Capital Executive Chairman said, "We are delighted to welcome Kyle and his colleagues to the family. Their exciting growth, diverse talent base and prestigious clients will help fuel the development of our best-in-class social media capabilities in the United States and internationally."

Kyle Kuhns , XX Artists CEO and Founder, said "Through our teams' incredible efforts, we have been fortunate to experience fantastic traction at XX Artists the last many years. In our forthcoming partnership with S(4) Capital and Media.Monks, we are eager to provide exciting growth, development and innovation opportunities for our people and clients alike. "

Bruno Lambertini , Co-Founder, Media.Monks, said "As we continue on our path to not only disrupt the industry but win the next decade, we understand we need to build our own ultimate all-star team. Which is precisely what Kyle and the leadership of the XX Artists team are! The way they've been able to break into the social, influencer and creator space, the relationships they've built along the way, their approach to DE&I and their commitment to people and clients are all qualities we seek for and embrace."

Enquiries

 
 S(4) Capital plc                  Tel: +44 (0)20 3793 0003 
 Sir Martin Sorrell, Executive 
  Chairman 
 
 Powerscourt (PR adviser to S(4)   Tel: +44 (0)778 670 2526 
  Capital plc) 
 Robin O'Kelly 
 Jane Glover 
 

About XX Artists

XX Artists is a digital marketing agency founded by Kyle Kuhns. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California with teams worldwide. XX Artists works with brands and talent to bring their message and products to life through social media and creator-led marketing.

Working with brands including Google, YouTube, Logitech, and Ancestry.com, XX Artists crafts best-in-class social content strategies, backed by insights and culture, to build brand value and community online. XX Artists prides themselves on their creator-first positioning and their commitment to producing accessible, inclusive content intended for a global audience.

XX Artists stands as a mighty team of 125 employees. Committed to inclusion and cultural representation, XX Artists believes in a collaborative and diverse process as a means of enriching clients and audiences alike. As such, XX Artists is majority-female and majority-diverse, with over a third of the team identifying as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. In 2021, XX Artists was named one of Fast Company's 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators and one of Ad Age's Best Places to Work , along with earning nominations for the Shorty Awards , Digiday Awards , and a Streamy nomination for Agency of the Year .

About S(4) Capital

S(4) Capital plc (SFOR.L) is the tech-led, new age/new era digital advertising and marketing services company, established by Sir Martin Sorrell in May 2018.

Its strategy is to build a purely digital advertising and marketing services business for global, multinational, regional, local clients and millennial-driven influencer brands. This will be achieved by integrating leading businesses in three practice areas: content, data&digital media and technology services, along with an emphasis on "faster, better, cheaper" executions in an always-on consumer-led environment, with a unitary structure.

Digital is by far the fastest-growing segment of the advertising market. S4Capital estimates that in 2021 digital accounted for approximately 60% or $420-450 billion of total global advertising spend of $700-750 billion (excluding over $500 billion of trade promotion marketing, the primary target of the Amazon advertising platform) and projects that by 2022 total global advertising spend will expand to $770-850 billion and digital's share will grow to approximately 65% and by 2024 to approximately 70%, accelerated by the impact of covid-19.

In 2018, S(4) Capital combined with MediaMonks, the leading AdAge A-listed creative digital content production company led by Victor Knaap and Wesley ter Haar, and then with MightyHive, the market-leading digital media solutions provider for future thinking marketers and agencies, led by Peter Kim and Christopher S. Martin.

Since then, MediaMonks and MightyHive have combined with more than 25 companies across content, data&digital media and technology services. For a full list, please see the S(4) Capital website . In August 2021, S(4) Capital launched its unitary brand by merging MediaMonks and MightyHive into Media.Monks, represented by a dynamic logo mark that features MightyHive's iconic hexagon. As the operational brand, Media.Monks underpins S(4) Capital's agility, digital knowledge and efficiency and is the next step in delivering on its foundational promise to unify content, data&digital media and technology services.

Victor Knaap, Wesley ter Haar, Pete Kim, Christopher Martin, Mary Basterfield and Scott Spirit all joined the S(4) Capital Board as Directors. The S(4) Capital Board also includes Rupert Faure Walker, Paul Roy, Daniel Pinto, Sue Prevezer, Elizabeth Buchanan, Naoko Okumoto, Margaret Ma Connolly, Peter Rademaker and Miles Young.

The Company now has over 9,000 people in 32 countries across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Asia-Pacific and a current market capitalisation of approximately GBP1.3 billion (c.$1.58 billion) and would rank in the FTSE 200. It achieved Unicorn status in a little over one year, unique in the advertising and marketing services industry. Sir Martin was CEO of WPP for 33 years, building it from a GBP1 million "shell" company in 1985 into the world's largest advertising and marketing services company with a market capitalisation of over GBP16 billion on the day he left. Today its market capitalisation is GBP9.0 billion, dropping into third place behind both Omnicom and Publicis for the first time ever. Prior to that Sir Martin was Group Financial Director of Saatchi & Saatchi Company Plc for nine years.

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