Founded in 1996, B2B media agency DWA is headquartered in San Francisco, with eight additional offices in the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The company’s enterprise clients include Sprint, NetApp, Cisco, DXC, Salesforce, Oracle, and Informatica.

The group will use the acquisition to expand the B2B offering at Merkle, with the new business branded ‘DWA, a Merkle company’. DWA’s 150 employees will join Merkle’s High Tech and B2B practice.

The move boosts Dentsu Aegis Network’s B2B capabilities, following its purchase of Gyro in 2016.

David Williams, president and chief executive at Merkle, said: “The shift toward people-based marketing, led by Merkle, is as relevant in B2B as it is elsewhere. This acquisition will strengthen our ability to deliver those capabilities for B2B clients, at scale.”

Merkle has also appointed Julia Crawley-Boevey as head of mergers and acquisitions for EMEA to drive its M&A activity for the region, which it says will increase “significantly” in 2018. Crawley-Boevey will be responsible for sourcing acquisition targets, leading deal activity and overseeing post-acquisition integration. She was previously head of global business strategy and M&A at digital marketing agency iCrossing.