SI Global advise Jaywing Plc on their sale of Australian subsidiary to Merchantwise Group

 SI Global was lead advisor to Jaywing Plc on their sale of Australian subsidiary, Jaywing Australia and sister agency, Frank Digital to Merchantwise Group, who were backed by private equity firm, Parc Capital. 

This latest acquisition – Merchantwise’s largest to date – sees Jaywing’s Australian operations join the group, doubling its scale and strengthening its position among Australia’s top independent brand, marketing and media agencies.

Jaywing Australia, named Performance Agency of the Year at the 2023 B&T Awards, has experienced strong growth and works with brands such as New Balance, Crocs, Myer, Intuit QuickBooks, a2 Milk, OES and InvoCare. The agency services clients both in Australia and across the wider APAC region.

Sister agency, Frank Digital is a UX and digital product studio delivering high-performing websites, apps and platforms for clients including Meriton, The City of Sydney, Merivale, Regional Australia Bank, Employment Hero and Sonder.

The addition of Jaywing Australia expands Merchantwise Group’s capabilities in AI-powered media, data strategy, performance marketing, UX/UI and digital product development, managing $110m in client media spend and licensing programs generating $500m in retail sales annually.

David Beck, Executive Chairman of Jaywing commented: “We appointed SI Global to help us source buyers and advise on the subsequent sale of the Jaywing Group’s Australian assets. We benefited from strong buyer interest for our very well performing Australian operations that have demonstrated strong growth under an exceptional management team led by Tom Geekie. SI’s Asia team brought great local knowledge and expertise and helped deliver a very positive result for Jaywing’s stakeholders.”

Tom Geekie, CEO of Jaywing Australia and Frank Digital, said: ““The real attraction to joining Merchantwise is that we can stay on the smaller or more agile indie side...and retain what is true to us and what has made us good at what we do already.”

Alan Schauder, Merchantwise Group CEO, said: “This is a transformative moment for our group… By bringing Jaywing and Frank Digital into the Merchantwise Group, we’re combining data, creativity, media and technology to deliver full-funnel solutions. We’re now operating at a whole new level of scale, capability and impact.”