The fourth largest global advertising group, Publicis Groupe, has acquired a majority stake in Indian advertising company, Capital Advertising. Capital Advertising, according to a press release on the Publicis website, is "the most important independent agency in the Indian capital Delhi, and one of the key independent advertising agencies in India". This is a move towards strengthening its position in the booming Indian economy.

According to Publicis, Capital will continue autonomous operations, albeit it will be aligned with the Asia operations of the Publicis Worldwide network. Capital Advertising''s founding directors, Sunil Sachdeva and Prasad Subramaniam, will report to Matthew Godfrey, CEO, Publicis Asia.

The acquisition is being viewed as a strategic reinforcement of the Publicis Groupe, in one of the most dynamic economies of the world, which also happens to be one of the fastest-growing advertising markets.

Publicis''s biggest brands and networks are already in place in India, including advertising networks Saatchi & Saatchi, Publicis and Leo Burnett; media networks ZenithOptimedia and Starcom, along with the recently created India Media Exchange. Additionally, it also has key marketing services agencies in the country.

In 2005, Publicis had acquired Solutions, an integrated marketing services agency in India. Cumulatively, Publicis presently has over 1,100 employees in India.

According to Olivier Fleurot, executive chairman, Publicis Worldwide, "India is a very important market for Publicis Worldwide. Not only does Capital Advertising allow us to increase our presence in this rapid-growth market, but it also strengthens our offer in the capital, which is the Indian advertising industry''s fastest growing zone, with a population of 14 million."

The Capital Advertising acquisition expands Publicis'' presence in Delhi, where it already is well-established through Publicis India in New Delhi. It is present in the country''s financial capital, Mumbai, through Mumbai-based Ambience Publicis.

Founded in 1992 by Sunil Sachdeva and Prasad Subramaniam, Capital Advertising has some high quality campaigns to its credit, for both local and global clients who include Maruti Suzuki, LG, CitiFinancial, Apollo Tyres, DLF, Hero Group, LML, and Spice Telecom, among others.

Commenting on the acquisition, Prasad Subramaniam and Sunil Sachdeva, Founding Directors of Capital Advertising, said "Being part of an international network has become critical in order for us to best respond to our clients'' needs in an increasingly globalised market. We feel that aligning Capital with Publicis will allow us to provide the best services to our clients, and the best opportunities to our employees. This move is our way of taking our business to the next level."

Capital''s areas of expertise range from well-established sectors of the economy, such as automotive, consumer durables and FMCG, to new economy sectors like telecom, IT and financial services. The company has a record of largely organic growth, driven by existing clients who rewarded the agency with more business against its deliveries.