Tokyo, June 15, 2022

Dentsu Group strengthens Customer Transformation & Technology capabilities with Pexlify acquisition, enhancing Merkle’s Salesforce offering

Dentsu Group Inc. (Tokyo: 4324; ISIN: JP3551520004; President & CEO: Hiroshi Igarashi; Head Office: Tokyo; Capital: 74,609.81 million yen) announced today that it has entered an agreement to acquire Pexlify, a leading Salesforce consultancy based in the UK and Ireland. Pexlify will join Merkle, a leading technology-enabled, data-driven customer experience management (CXM) company within Dentsu Group’s international business, Dentsu International.

With this acquisition, Pexlify further bolsters Merkle’s existing Salesforce capabilities, adding scale and additional geography in the UK and Ireland for B2B and B2C clients. It adds expertise in Salesforce Sales, Service, and Experience Cloud solutions and further expands Merkle’s existing offering in Salesforce Commerce and Marketing Clouds.

Dentsu Group has more than 1,300 Salesforce trained staff and over 3,000 Salesforce certifications, providing customer experience transformation solutions that are aligned with Salesforce cloud capabilities. In the UK, Merkle’s Salesforce offering is underpinned by its longstanding expertise in outcome-led customer experience, driven by data and enabled by marketing technology, cementing its unique positioning in the Salesforce ecosystem.

The acquisition demonstrates Dentsu Group’s commitment to enabling clients to deliver best-in-class differentiated and connected experiences across the entire customer journey. It aligns with Dentsu Group’s stated ambition of reaching 50% of net revenue generated by Customer Transformation & Technology (CT&T)*, encompassing the fast growth areas of customer experience and commerce.

Founded in 2015, Pexlify is a Salesforce implementation leader with 150 staff across its Dublin, London, Frankfurt, and Poland offices. It provides strategy, implementation, and integration services to clients across Salesforce Commerce, Experience, Marketing, Sales, and Service Cloud solutions. Clients include Allianz, Amazon, Bank of Ireland, Hilti, and Zurich.

Margaret Wagner, EMEA President, Merkle, said: “Pexlify provides a fantastic opportunity for Merkle to significantly extend our Salesforce services – adding scale and capability and supporting our ambitions for growth in these important markets with our key strategic partners.”

Stephen Lambert, CEO, Pexlify, said, “I am very excited about today's announcement. Our incredible growth and success as a Salesforce partner wouldn’t be possible without the hard work of our team. With the similarities in our values, culture, and ambitions, I am delighted to join Merkle to bring the benefits and opportunities it offers to our people, our clients, and our partnership with Salesforce.”

Pexlify’s employees will make the transition to Merkle, along with Lambert, and the Pexlify leadership team. Lambert will report directly to the UK CEO of Merkle, Anne Stagg. The company will be known as “Pexlify, a Merkle Company” with immediate effect and develop joint go-to-market plans and accelerate growth across both businesses.