LEAF assists Tomorrow, a Swedish creative agency based in Shanghai in merging with MediaMonks, an independent creative digital production company combining creative and production forces in China

PRESS RELEASE

January 14, 2021

LEAF has advised Tomorrow, a creative agency in merging with MediaMonks to strengthen their creative and content capabilities, and add talents and clients in the key market of China

Tomorrow has become one of China's most exciting and awarded digital creative agencies. With a focus on creating integrated brand and social campaigns TOMORROW employs around 50 people in Shanghai and counts Burberry, Budweiser, Beyond Meat, Coca Cola, Starbucks, Crocs and Red Bull as clients.

MediaMonks is the content practice of S4Capital plc (SFOR.L), the tech-led, new age/new era digital advertising and marketing services company. TOMORROW is an award-winning Shanghai-based creative agency. The merger will pair Tomorrow's stellar creative track-record in China with MediaMonks’ global footprint and world-class creative production capabilities in China, the world's second largest advertising market.

Post-merger, S4Capital will now have around 500 people in Asia-Pacific across its Content and Data & Digital Media practices out of a total of approximately 4000.

Jean-Philippe Engel led the Leaf Transaction Team with support from Chloe Voratanouvong.

 

The Leaf Transaction Team led complex negotiations on the structuring between the sellers as well as on the M&A operation itself.

“This transaction, which follows the recent acquisitions made in China by players like Artefact and Altavia, shows the continuous appetite of MNCs for independent players in the digital communication industry in China” commented Jean-Philippe Engel.

Rogier Bikker, CEO and Founder of Tomorrow added, "We are incredibly proud of what we have built at Tomorrow and couldn't be more excited about this next stage as we partner with MediaMonks and S4Capital to be a disruptive creative force in China".

About LEAF

Leaf is a corporate law firm specialized in M&A transactions with offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Paris. The team, composed of Chinese and international corporate lawyers, advises mid-cap enterprises and international corporations for their M&A operations, their joint ventures with public and private Chinese players or to structure investment in Asia. Leaf’s team has been multi-awarded over the last years on its ability to deal with complex negotiation in M&A deals.

ABOUT TOMORROW

TOMORROW is a creative agency that knows how to make Chinese youth fall in love with the brands it works with. Founded in 2015 by Rogier Bikker and based in Shanghai, its team of 50 creative talents work with the world's most iconic brands, including Burberry, Budweiser, Beyond Meat, Coca Cola, Starbucks, Crocs and Red Bull. TOMORROW blends strategic, creative, social and production capabilities into campaigns and content that redefine perspectives today with the strategic foresight of tomorrow. Over the past years they have been awarded (Greater) China Creative, Independent, Social, Specialist and Boutique agency of the year in the Campaign Asia Agency of the Year Awards. TOMORROW has also been ranked among the top 5 Independent Agencies globally by Campaign US.

ABOUT MEDIAMONKS

MediaMonks is a global creative production company that partners with clients across industries and markets to craft amazing work for leading businesses and brands. Its integrated production capabilities span the entire creative spectrum, covering anything you could possibly want from a production partner, and probably more.

From creative campaigns and content to bespoke development and design, MediaMonks works above the line and below the fold at the intersection of creativity and technology. Operating across teams, time zones, and technologies with an incredible in-house team of more than 1500 Monks, including recent S4Capital mergers. Its work is recognized by advertising and craft awards around the world, producing 131 Cannes Lions and 240+ FWAs to date.

ABOUT S4CAPITAL

S4Capital 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 initially by integrating leading businesses in two practice areas: Data & digital media and Content, along with an emphasis on "faster, better, cheaper" executions in an always-on consumer-led environment, with a unitary structure.

The Company now has around 4,000 people in 31 countries across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Asia-Pacific and a current market capitalisation of approximately £2.7 billion (c.$3.7 billion) , and would rank in the FTSE 150. It achieved Unicorn status in a little over one year, unique in the advertising and marketing services industry.

For further information:

Jean-Philippe Engel: [email protected]