One of the Spanish company’s strategies is to acquire other agencies; this year, there were three
In February, LLYC confirmed the acquisition of Lambert Global, an American strategic communications and integrated marketing company. In May, it was the turn of Colombian Dattis Comunicaciones. The latest acquisition took place in June, when LLYC acquired Zeus.
Over the past three years, LLYC has been focused on a robust acquisition plan, with 14 acquisitions to date. According to global CEO Alejandro Romero, the strategy has already resulted in a 14% increase by the end of 2023.
“Our goal is to integrate companies that help to further strengthen and expand our current value proposition, complemented by a vision of strategic geographies such as Brazil, Mexico and the United States,” said Romero.
In this interview, the executive also details the company’s plans to double in size over the next five years.
LLYC has a robust acquisition strategy in place to double the size of the company over the next five years. How is this strategy designed and how will it unfold this year?
Our growth strategy has an important inorganic component, but always based on organic growth. For this reason, our goal is to integrate companies that help to further strengthen and expand our current value proposition, complemented by a vision of strategic geographies such as Brazil, Mexico and the United States.
Which companies are in the spotlight for these acquisitions?
In this strategy of complementarity of our offer, we have a special focus on companies specialized in technology, creativity and marketing. But we also want to continue strengthening our global offer in government relations and internal marketing.
How does the acquisition strategy in key markets, such as Colombia, Mexico, Spain, the United States and Brazil, impact LLYC’s organic growth?
In two very important aspects: in the area of specialization with a clear focus on expanding our capabilities in marketing, creativity and paid media; but also in our offering in different geographies, such as the acquisition of Lambert, which expanded our presence in the United States; and the most recent acquisition of Dattis, in Colombia, which consolidates us as the largest agency in the country and a presence in Bogotá and Medellín.
What are the challenges and opportunities involved in LLYC’s goal of doubling in size in the next five years?
The biggest opportunity is, without a doubt, to increase our capacity to respond to our clients’ challenges in an increasingly comprehensive manner and in increasingly complex contexts. There are always many challenges, and they motivate us. One of them is to accompany this growth by developing our talent, creating more and more career opportunities for our company’s main asset: people.
How did LLYC manage to increase its operating revenues by 14% and its total revenues by 13% in 2023?
Growth is only possible when we are able to translate our value proposition into tangible results for our customers, and provide more and better solutions to the increasingly complex challenges that surround the reality of our customers around the world.
What are the factors that led to LLYC’s 24% increase in net profit last year?
In addition to maintaining responsible planning with a clear management vision, the most important thing is to believe that it is possible to create integrated solutions with greater added value for our clients and highly connected to the direct needs of their business.
How does your leadership and trajectory, considering that you started at LLYC as an intern and are now global CEO, impact the company’s culture and strategy?
An essential element of our culture and growth strategy lies precisely in our talent development plan, which translates into a professional partner model made up largely of people who have grown professionally at LLYC. This has always been the vision of José Antonio Llorente, our founding partner, and an important part of his legacy. In a way, having a CEO who has followed this path is a clear example of this.
