Media investment company GroupM has announced a restructuring of its portfolio, which includes the merging of its media agency networks MEC and Maxus, as well as the expansion of its digital-first agency Essence.

The merger of MEC and Maxus will bring about the formation of ‘a new billion-dollar revenue, media, content and technology agency’. The agency will be led by MEC’s CEO Tim Castree.

“Maxus and MEC share common values and ambitions,” said Castree. “Both networks have a strong local market presence and entrepreneurial drive. Together, we believe we can create an exciting new media, content and technology agency which we look forward to introducing soon.”

Meanwhile, the expansion of Essence will see GroupM ‘adding traditional media capabilities and a larger geographic footprint’ to its current credentials. Furthermore, Essence will lead some of GroupM’s client relationships in the future.

“The leadership team at Essence is excited about the opportunities this creates for our clients and our people,” said Christian Juhl, Essence CEO. “Our mission is to make advertising more valuable to the world; with this infusion of talent, capabilities and markets, we can do this now on a bigger stage.” 

The reorganisation means GroupM now comprises of three global media agency networks – Mindshare, MediaCom, and the new company – and an ‘innovative’ digital-first agency in Essence. GroupM says it also plans new investments across all of its agencies, and its [m]Platform data and technology capabilities.

“We’ve clearly signaled our ambition to transform, and we mean business,” said Lindsay Pattison, chief transformation officer at GroupM. “This allows us to more meaningfully invest in each agency’s future – retaining and attracting the best talent with inspiring and rewarding workplaces, creating differentiated cultures and approaches, and sharing in a focus on helping clients win.”