Accenture’s seemingly unquenchable appetite for acquisitions has led it back to the deal table. Having hoovered up more than 40 companies in a decade to create Accenture Song, the services company has struck a deal to buy ConcentricLife for $245 million just months after the formation of the agency.
Stagwell created ConcentricLife in February, bringing together two agencies to create a new organization specialized in rare disease, healthcare and wellness. The agency began life with 270 employees at sites in countries including the U.S., U.K. and Denmark, plus a “proprietary tool that helps marketers identify and target the underlying human behaviors that fuel the modern health experience.”
Accenture sees the capabilities as a good fit for its Brobdingnagian advertising and marketing services unit, Accenture Song. The unit, formerly known as Accenture Interactive, is the result of more than 40 acquisitions in 10 years, deals that have helped it grow its annual sales to $14 billion.
ConcentricLife will bring full-service digital healthcare marketing and communications expertise to the organization. Ken Begasse Jr., CEO of ConcentricLife, explained how being part of the larger organization could benefit his business and the clients they serve.
“This transaction will enhance our ability to help our clients achieve this vision in addressing the challenges of tomorrow. With this combined talent of diverse thinking and experiences, we will extend our ability to solve new patient and provider challenges in high-impact areas including access, clinical trials and patient services,” Begasse said in a statement.
ConcentricLife is the result of a series of deals. Stagwell gained control of Concentric Partners by merging with MDC Partners in 2021. Shortly after the deal closed, Stagwell paid $8.1 million to acquire the 27% of Concentric that it didn’t already own. MDC initially invested in Concentric in 2011. Having taken full control of Concentric, Stagwell combined the business with Scout to create ConcentricLife.