The latest move, announced August 19th, is TBWA’s planned acquisition of a majority stake in Nippo Corporation, Japan’s 16th largest agency.

Earlier, at the start of August, WPP announced it was buying 20% of Japan’s third largest agency Asatsu Inc. while in July, BBDO announced they were merging their Japan operations into #8th ranked I&S Corp, and would be acquiring majority equity therein

Nippo’s major client is Nissan Motor Corporation, who also own 55.28% of the agency. Other shareholders include the Tomin Bank and Fujisankei Communications, a media conglomerate. TBWA will acquire up to 70% of Nippo’s equity while Nissan will retain a 10% minority and become the second largest shareholder. Because talks with Nippo shareholders are still continuing, financial terms weren't disclosed. However Keith Smith, TBWA’s Asia/Pacific chairman said that the purchase should be completed by the end of September or early October.

About half Nippo’s Yen 40.7 Billion business is in sales promotion, trade fairs, events, or other below-the-line activities, and an estimated 70+% is from Nissan or Nissan affiliates. Other clients include Hitachi Ltd., Nippon Life Insurance, and Hewlett-Packard Japan. As well as in Tokyo, Nippo also has offices in Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Sapporo, and Amsterdam. " Nippo’s regional capabilities will be of great interest to many foreign clients," said Smith.

According, Mr. Itaru Koeda, a Nissan managing director, the initiative for the deal came from Omnicom, TBWA’s parent. Nissan is restructuring its business in Japan and, said Koeda, " Nippo is an important part of the Nissan group but the agency’s future was now best assured if it was managed by a ' professional ad agency ' rather than by Nissan itself.

Koeda said that Nissan already had experience working successfully with TBWA in North America and Europe and therefore strongly supported TBWA’s arrival into Japan, but that there would be no re-alignment of Nissan's advertising business in Japan as a result. Nissan’s Yen 40 Billion account is currently split between Hakuhodo (65%), Nippo (30%), and Standard Advertising (5%).

The agency will be renamed TBWA Nippo, "almost immediately," said Smith, who will be joining Nippo’s board together with Michael Greenlees, TBWA Worldwide’s president/CEO. Existing Nippo management will remain in place. TBWA’s first priorities include installing IT systems to integrate the agency into TBWA’s worldwide network, introducing their own Account Planning and media planning approaches, and building training and development programs for Nippo staff.

Nissan is also the major client of Hakuhodo, Japan’s #2 agency with whom TBWA have had a European joint venture, TBWA/NETH-work Inc, since 1990, based in Amsterdam, working for Nissan. 

"We’ll be co-operating closely with Hakuhodo in Japan, especially on media," said Smith, "but there'll also be a degree of friendly competition. " Apple, currently TBWA’s largest single client in Japan, currently works with a Hakuhodo subsidiary, Hakuhodo PRO Ltd, under TBWA’s overall direction. 

Smith said that though there were no immediate plans for TBWA’s aligned clients in Japan to move to TBWA Nippo, he expected many of them to move over the coming year. These could include Apple Computer, Beiersdorf, Henkel, and Seagram.

 TBWA said the purchase of Nippo is aimed at helping the world's ninth-largest advertising concern to better serve global clients in Japan. Tapping the Japanese market bring expertise, which the company has lacked in the past, Smith added. Within a few years, Smith said Tokyo should become one of TBWA’s ‘ centres of excellence’ on par with Los Angeles, New York, and Paris.