Paris, May 28th 2024,
Following a competitive process orchestrated by DDA & Company, US-based independent creative agency forceMAJEURE, specializing in branding, design and photography for luxury/premium clients, joins the French Lonsdale Group, consolidating its international footprint.
Following its successful move to Singapore in 2022, Lonsdale combines its expertise with forceMAJEURE in New York, and now operates from three major regional hubs: serving Europe and the Middle East from Paris, Asia Pacific from Singapore and North America from New York. Establishing a direct presence in the United States through forceMAJEURE will enable Lonsdale to penetrate the American market in the consumer branding segment, while acquiring valuable expertise in the luxury goods and wine & spirits sectors. The two companies already share similarities in terms of clientele and a distinctive “French touch” offering compared to Anglo-Saxon players.
This acquisition has been finalized thanks to BNP Paribas Développement’s entry into Lonsdale’s capital alongside the historical shareholders NextStage and MI3, to support Frédéric Messian, some key managers and Laurent Hainaut, who becomes a Lonsdale shareholder and member of its strategic committee.
For Frédéric Messian, President of Lonsdale: “We didn’t want to create just another traditional network! We wanted to federate a community of dynamic entrepreneurs, driven by the same ambition. Our independence is the best guarantee of our agility. I’m delighted to welcome Laurent and his team to the Group. They will enable us to accelerate our development in the luxury & premium brand segment, which is experiencing strong growth in all regions. We will bring to their customers Lonsdale’s complementary expertise, particularly in AI.”
Laurent Hainaut, Founder of forceMAJEURE states: “Joining Lonsdale came naturally. This operation amplifies our ambitions for our teams and our customers. We all share the same vision of design and the same commitment to creative excellence. We embody “French flair”: a state of mind that combines agility, audacity, ingenuity, inspiration and creative know-how. This association will enable us to serve our customers even better, by giving them access to new expertise and innovative, integrated strategic planning.”
Alain Sitbon, Partner at DDA & Company adds : “We are delighted with the positive outcome of the ForceMajeure operation. This transaction combines our team’s expertise in the media marketing and communications sector, as well as in the management of cross-border operations, particularly for this project, which was jointly carried out with teams from our Paris and New York offices.”
The DDA & Company team, composed of Alain Sitbon, Jean Damien Perrier and Benjamin Guedj, advised forceMAJEURE on this sale. This transaction once again illustrates the sector expertise acquired by DDA & Company in the communications sector and its ability to carry out cross-border deals.