kyu Acquires UK-based DX Consulting Firm Public Digital Ltd.

Hakuhodo DY Holdings Inc. (Minato-ku, Tokyo; Masayuki Mizushima, President) is pleased to announce that its strategic operating unit kyu has acquired a 25% equity stake in Public Digital Ltd., a digital transformation (DX) consulting company based in the United Kingdom.

We have also reached agreement with Public Digital shareholders to have an option to purchase a majority interest at a future date.

Having provided consulting to private-sector companies and public organisations in 18 countries worldwide (including the United Nations, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Government of Argentina) at all levels, from senior management to front-line staff, Public Digital’s strengths lie in the planning and implementation of agile service and product development, taking organisations from zero to digitisation rapidly.

The company has recently provided consulting on the construction of coronavirus websites to more than 30 entities, including governments, local authorities, health centres and other organisations, supporting the provision of the up-to-the-minute Covid-19 information required by many people, and is regarded highly for this track record.

Since its establishment, Public Digital has had a system for receiving work orders remotely from all over the world, and continues to support its clients as normal even during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The investment in Public Digital by kyu is undertaken toward strengthening response capabilities for borderless corporate activities by recruiting specialised and innovative companies into the Group and establishing a leading position in the broader digital domain, two of the fundamentals for growth (see note) that were outlined in the Group’s previous Medium-Term Business Plan and continue in the current five-year period.

Note: The three fundamentals for growth are: (1) Establish a leading position in the broader digital domain, (2) Strengthen response capabilities for borderless corporate activities, (3) Accelerate innovation through external collaborations

Since its establishment in 2014, kyu has welcomed nine corporate groups as members, including design firms and consulting companies in the United States and Canada. The Hakuhodo DY Group, through kyu, will continue to enhance specialisation and innovation within the Group in order to realize our core medium-term strategy: “With sei-katsu-sha insight as our cornerstone, the Hakuhodo DY Group will combine its creativity, integrative capabilities, and data and technology utilisation skills to play a leading role in evolving companies’ marketing activities and generating innovation in a completely digitalised era. In this way, we will continue to impact and provide new value to sei-katsu-sha and society as a whole,” while also contributing to the growth of the Group’s international operations. The impact of the acquisition of Public Digital on consolidated performance in the year ending March 31st, 2021 will not be material.