Dekuple takes majority stake in Italian martech agency SAY to grow in Southern Europe

Dekuple Group, the Paris-listed data marketing business, has taken a majority stake in SAY, an Italian agency with offices in Padua and Milan and more than 70 people. The deal was announced on 14 October and SAY's numbers are consolidated into Dekuple's from 1 October.

Neither the size of the stake nor the price has been disclosed. What Dekuple did say is that SAY is profitable and growing, which is the line every listed buyer wants to be able to tell its shareholders.

Two agencies that became one

SAY has an interesting back story. It was formed by bringing together Site By Site, a martech and web agency, with YAK Agency, a creative and PR shop. The business dates back to 2004 and is run by four co-founders and partners: Alberto Baracco, Nicola Bruno, Giovanni Cecolin and Marco Dalla Dea.

Today it is organised around three areas: creativity, performance, and relations (PR, influencer marketing and events). TipRanks, reporting on the release, also highlighted SAY's work in SEO, GEO, UX, data analytics and AI. Named clients include Italo Treno, the Tigotà retail chain, Lavazza Group company Nims, Miele, Schüco and the International Olympic Committee.

Why Dekuple wanted it

Dekuple wants more of Southern Europe, and Italy is its way in. Chairman and CEO Bertrand Laurioz pointed to Italy's strong e-commerce and retail sectors, and said plainly that "SAY's MarTech agency model closely mirrors our own."

That is the real logic here. Dekuple is not buying a creative shop to bolt onto a data business. It is buying a smaller version of itself in a new market, then plugging in its own technology and its Boost Factory performance tools. The SAY partners framed the move around AI changing how agencies work, and the backing of a bigger group to keep up.

For founders, the lesson is a simple one. Buyers pay most attention to agencies that look like them. If your service mix already resembles a listed group's model, you are easier to integrate and easier to explain to their investors.

Curious which groups would see your agency as a natural fit? Talk to us at Agencies.co.

Sources: Dekuple Group (GlobeNewswire), TipRanks