Casers Group Acquires Mawal Group To Form The First Wholly Owned Media And Marketing Services Network In West And Central Africa
Casers Group and Mawal Group have announced a definitive merger agreement under which Casers Group acquires Mawal, the leading marketing communications network in French West and Central Africa. Enyi Odigbo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Casers Group, explained that “the acquisition of Mawal demonstrates our commitment to prudently deploy resources that will deliver unassailable value to existing and prospective local and multinational clients”.
Casers Group is now an unmatched solution for any multinational brand looking for worldclass service delivery throughout West and Central Africa – to either launch or extend within the region. “This strategic combination eliminates the need for businesses who require a regional marketing communications solution to seek partners on a country by country basis, which often results in disparate service levels, in terms of quality and resource deployment” said Odigbo.
This merger has developed out of the successful DDB led partnership of Casers Group, Mawal Group and Innova DDB in partnering MTN, the largest mobile telecoms operator in the Middle East and Africa. DDB currently manages MTN in Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Cameroun, Cote d'Ivoire, Republic of Benin, Guinea Conakry, Guinea Bissau and Congo Brazzaville.
Joel Nettey, MD of INNOVA DDB and President of the Advertising Association of Ghana said “The opportunity to partner on MTN for the past 4 years throughout the region provided the learning curve needed to drastically reduce the teething problems associated with deals of this nature”. Reacting to this development, Bayo Adekanbi, Chief Marketing Officer, MTN Nigeria said that “This is a commendable feat in Casers’ quest to deliver solutions to the increasing market opportunities, in West and Central Africa.
Casers’ experience with MTN will be an added advantage and significant leverage in leap-frogging the challenges of the region, with speed, precision and effectiveness” With the acquisition completed and integration process well underway, the Founder and Executive Chairperson of Mawal Group, Mrs. Mareme Malong will retire but will continue to serve as adviser to the board. She said that she and her team members “are excited at this development because it is the coming together of like-minded Africans to form a more formidable entity that will outperform our individual operations.
I cannot wish for a better retirement confident that I have left Mawal in the hands of partners I have come to trust”. Casers Group through this acquisition now offers services in advertising - DDB and BBDO; media - Capital Media, NEXUS and Space: digital communications - Mobius; production - WOW; experiential marketing.
All these competencies will be available in every country in which the group operates, thereby ensuring better synergies between markets for clients like MTN. Mr. Patrick Ehringer, President DDB MEA, said “With this unprecedented investment in West and Central Africa, DDB is now uniquely positioned to develop its footprint across the African continent”
He added, on DDB’s relationship with Casers, that “we are delighted to further extend and invest in our close relationship with Enyi's team at Casers. This development is not just positive for existing local and regional client partners but also for any prospective global brands who are serious about investing in Africa, as their next growth frontier”.
ABOUT CASERS GROUP
Established in 1987, Casers is a strategic marketing communication and media investment company with interest in a diverse portfolio of businesses in the integrated marketing communication industry. The Group is committed to achieving its growth aspirations by continually identifying, investing in and nurturing high potential communications and media properties across sectors and geographies.
Casers Group’s impressive portfolio of global and regional brands includes Diageo, Visa, Unilever, Pernod Ricard, MTN, The Global Fund, GCB, NHIS amongst others.
To learn more, please visit us at www.casersgroup.com