close search

SCD Advisory acted as sell-side adviser to Aware Services on their sale to Merkle (Dentsu)

Posted On : 14th December 2022

SCD Advisory is pleased to announce that it has advised Aware Services, an Australian-owned Salesforce, MuleSoft, and Tableau partner, on its sale to Merkle.

The acquisition will be part of Merkle, dentsu’s technology-enabled, data-driven customer experience management business and is an important step in its strategic plan to become the leading customer transformation partner in Australia.

half half image block

Aware Services is an Australian-owned Salesforce, MuleSoft, and Tableau partner with data and analytics capability, working with a broad range of clients in both the public and private sectors.

The acquisition will bolster Merkle’s existing Salesforce and data and analytics practices, empowered by dentsu which has more than 1,500 Salesforce trained staff and almost 3,900 Salesforce certifications. Aware will assist Merkle in better serving existing clients, while allowing Merkle to pursue its goal of sustainable growth with a newly expanded team. Together with dentsu they will continue to provide exceptional customer experience transformation solutions that are aligned with Salesforce cloud capabilities.

Merkle is focused on continuing its accelerated trajectory towards supporting dentsu’s ambition to reach 50% of its revenues from Customer Transformation & Technology through organic growth and strategic acquisitions. The company continues to push further into the customer experience transformation space, delivering strong results for the business and its clients, while contributing to the broader industry.

John Riccio, CEO Merkle ANZ and APAC, commented:

“In today’s environment, it has never been more important for businesses to have a strong end-to-end customer experience. This requires businesses to have a strong, in-depth understanding of who their customer is and what their motivations are. At Merkle, we are constantly looking at how we can be the best partner to solve real business challenges, today and tomorrow. Having strong data and analytics capabilities sits at the heart of this, and we couldn’t be more excited to be growing our team with 115 new talented people who are craft specialists in this space.”

half half image block

Paul Stewart, CEO of Aware Services, said:

“We are excited to become a part of the Merkle ANZ story and join the broader dentsu network. Aware Services has always been committed to helping bring our clients’ futures to life, and as part of Merkle, we will be able to do this on a larger scale.”

The consultancy will go to market as Aware Services, a Merkle Company for a brief transition period and then the 115-person staff and leadership will be fully integrated into the Merkle team by early next year.”

half half image block

Paul Stewart (CEO of Aware Services) added:

 

We are extremely thankful to Pierre and the SCD team for their strategic guidance throughout the transaction with a large international buyer such as Dentsu. The deal was executed in a professional manner specifically around the numerous technicalities that arose throughout the process. We are excited for the future ahead as part of Merkle, which will provide great opportunities for both our clients and staff!

 

Pierre Briand (Founder of SCD Advisory) concluded:

 

We were pleased to support Aware Services on this transaction and wish the Aware Services team great success with continuing their growth strategy as part of Merkle. For SCD, this is our second Salesforce transaction throughout the year, reinforcing the strong interest currently present in the fast-growing Salesforce ecosystem, and more generally in the IT services and consulting sectors we are covering.

At SCD Advisory, we offer a range of services from deal preparation to transaction execution. Contact us at info@scdadvisory.com to find out more.

M&A newsletter

For the latest M&A trends, deals and insight in the B2B services sector, sign up to our newsletter.

Newsletter Signup
Checkboxes
Pierre Briand preview image
Written by: Pierre Briand, Founder & Managing Partner

Pierre brings 25 years of expertise in advising entrepreneurs, with a deep background in management and financial advisory across corporate finance, private banking, and wealth management. His extensive experience includes numerous sell-side and buy-side deals, IPOs, mergers, integrations, and consulting projects for both small businesses and large global corporations. As an established and highly regarded advisor, Pierre is known for his savvy, trusted guidance.

Pierre’s career began in Australia before he moved to France, where he worked with prominent business figures like billionaire François Pinault on M&A deals within the Artemis group. He then founded BC&D, an M&A small-cap firm in Paris, where he managed corporate advisory services across Europe, covering both origination and execution. His work extended beyond transactions, advising entrepreneurs on wealth management strategies to optimise the transition from business ownership.

In Paris, he held advisory roles at the Belgium Family Office (DeGroof) and as a senior private banker and head of the HNW segment for France at JP Morgan. Returning to Australia in 2015, Pierre established the ANZ subsidiary of a UK-headquartered M&A firm, executing 9 M&A transactions across Australia. In 2019, he launched SCD Advisory, where he has since completed 35+ transactions, earning multiple global awards in M&A advisory from 2021 to 2024. Notably, he was named ‘Deal Maker of the Year’ by Finance Monthly in 2022 for his sale of Hypothesis to McKinsey & Co.

Pierre graduated from the Business of Troyes in France and has a postgraduate in Corporate Finance from the University of Caen. He is also a certified Financial Analyst and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD). Pierre further enhanced his credentials by completing the “Leading Professional Services Firms” program at Harvard Business School. His track record and accolades highlight his dedication to excellence and his exceptional skill in delivering successful outcomes for his clients.

Pierre is French, Australian citizen, Overseas Citizen of India. He is married and has two children. He is passionate about international travel, gastronomy, sailing and golf. As an experienced sailor, his motto in business and life in general is: “We cannot direct the wind, but we can trim the sails”

waves image bottom
shaded background

Give us a call on +61 434 730 099. Or, email us at info@scdadvisory.com
or fill in our contact form and we will give you a call.

Privacy Overview
SCD Advisory

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

3rd Party Cookies

This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.

Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.