LONDON (Brand Republic) - Dentsu, one of the world鈥檚 largest advertising agencies, is go public and float 15%-20% of its stock in a move which will raise between $1bn and $2bn (£0.69bn and £1.39bn).
The partial flotation of the Japanese agency has been expected since the B|Com3 Group in Chicago, in which Dentsu holds a 20% stake, announced its plans for an IPO. The offering is being underwritten by banks Merrill Lynch, Nomura Securities and UBS Warburg.
It comes as rivals such as the UK鈥檚 WPP Group and the US鈥檚 Omnicom Group pursue policies of aggressive overseas expansion.
Although Dentsu has annual billings of $14bn (£9.69bn), they mostly originate from within Japan. In the year ended March 31, only 5% of its consolidated billings of 1,600bn yen (£9.43bn) came from outside the country.