Jellyfish receives investment from French group Fimalac, now valued at $647 million

It’s been more than a year since we wrote about Jellyfish. Back then, Jellyfish acquired ASO Co to bolster its mobile app services. The Baltimore, Maryland-based Jellyfish is a digital partner to some of the world’s leading brands including Uber, Ebay, Disney, Spotify, Nestlé, Ford, Aviva and ASOS.  The startup experienced massive growth since then.

Today, Jellyfish announced it has received a massive investment boost from French group Fimalac. As part of the deal, Tradelab (part of Fimalac Group), a leading programmatic buyer in Europe will be integrated into Jellyfish. The total amount of the investment was not disclosed.

The deal will put the value of the new combined entity at nearly $647M and raise Jellyfish’s headcount from 780 to almost 1,100. Headquartered in Baltimore in the US, the expansion will also give Jellyfish a presence in new markets including France, Germany, Italy and Brazil, bringing its total number of offices to 30. Following the merger, there is further planned expansion in Australia, South East Asia, Latin America and Africa.

Launched in 2005, Jellyfish has achieved 45% compound annual growth over the last eight years. In the last 12 months alone, the business opened six new offices and established a presence in new territories including APAC, the Nordics and the Middle East. In addition to Jellyfish’s current offering, which blends data, creative and media buying, Tradelab’s technologies will enhance the company’s capabilities across Google’s platforms.

As part of the deal, the data-driven specialist Tradelab (part of Fimalac Group) will be integrated into Jellyfish. Tradelab currently has 300 global experts with 120 specialists dedicated to technology, innovation and development alone, and is a Google Marketing Partner.

Jellyfish will continue to be led by co-founder and CEO Rob Pierre, CFO Chris Lee and its global leadership team. Yohann Dupasquier, CEO and founder of Tradelab will join the Jellyfish board.

Together, Jellyfish and Tradelab are giving birth to a new kind of global business partner. In addition to Jellyfish’s integrated offering, which blends data, creative and media buying, Tradelab’s cutting-edge technologies will enhance the company’s value proposition across Google’s platforms, unleashing their full potential for brands across the world. The expansion will give Jellyfish a presence in new markets including France, Germany, Italy and Brazil, bringing the total number of offices to 30. The deal raises the combined headcount from 780 to nearly 1100.

Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière said, “Fimalac’s build up strategy has proven highly successful in creating global leaders in financial ratings, and digital media and production fields. Today I am very proud to help Jellyfish and Tradelab join forces to build a new global leader with a unique set of expertise and talents, helping brands navigate technology and data.”

Rob Pierre, CEO of Jellyfish comments: “Today’s brands need digital partners who are able to offer capabilities that go beyond the traditional agency model. Building a digital business that is fit for the 21st century means adding technology, consultancy and training to agency services, and on top of this, delivering them at scale.

Pierre added: “The synergies we felt with Tradelab and the shared goal of building a world-leading digital offering, made this an ideal fit for our business. The investment and subsequent expansion will enable us to continue building our global footprint as we bring the Jellyfish brand to all four corners of the world. As we head towards 15 years in business, this deal marks the beginning of an exciting new phase in the Jellyfish story. As one chapter ends, another begins and I for one can’t wait to get started.”

Yohann Dupasquier, CEO of Tradelab added: “Data is everywhere and users rightfully want more control over the relationships they have with brands. We’re thrilled to scale our technology and data-by-design approach with Jellyfish. It is essential for us to help brands through this revolution and take a scientific approach to making them relevant everywhere in the world.”