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Munich/Oslo, November 7 – Paritee, which last year acquired award-winning communications agency Brands2Life, has acquired LHLK Gruppe, one of Germany’s leading communications agencies. LHLK comprises the agencies LHLK and PRpetuum (PRP), with combined net sales in FY 2023 of more than €11m and approx. 100 employees across its Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich offices.
LHLK Gruppe specializes in brand, corporate, public acceptance and infrastructure communications, and boasts a client portfolio that includes: HARIBO, Munich Re, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, NTT Data, Deutsche Bahn and ams OSRAM. The acquisition adds additional scale to Paritee’s growing presence in EMEA and a strategically important foothold in Germany. As Europe’s largest economy, Germany has strong business ties with the Nordic region as well as the UK. The acquisition opens up additional opportunities to win and serve both domestic and international clients, as well as attract the best talent to a growing agency platform. Paritee has acquired a significant majority stake in the LHLK Group and the current shareholders will retain a meaningful minority position in the agency. Dirk Loesch, the CEO and Founder, and his management team of LHLK Group remain in place and will continue to drive the future development of the agency group.
With Paritee’s entry into the German market, alongside its earlier acquisitions of platform ‘cornerstone’ Brands2Life in the UK and US; Geelmuyden.Kiese and DVA Creative Technology Studio in the Nordics, it further cements its position as a new breed of innovative agency collaboration and partnership. Combined, the platform now generates annual net sales in excess of €60 million, with more than 400 employees across 10 locations.
“LHLK Group is simply a very impressive agency, with great management, great people, great clients and a great reputation. By virtue of its size, position and offering, LHLK Gruppe is an important strategic addition to the Paritee platform”, says Jonas Palmqvist, CEO Paritee and new Chairman for LHLK Gruppe.
Under the new ownership structure, the German management team will continue to develop LHLK Gruppe in existing and new fields of communication, building on the strong growth of recent years and accelerating progress in line with Paritee’s long-term goals.
Dirk Loesch, founder and CEO of the LHLK Gruppe comments; “Joining forces with Paritee is the right move at the right time for us. Together with Paritee and its strong agencies in Scandinavia, UK and US, we can not only accelerate our growth strategy but also explore new areas of activity. We will take an active part in shaping the future development of Paritee, which is an exciting opportunity for all of us at the LHLK Gruppe – our employees, clients, and management team alike. What connects Paritee and the LHLK Gruppe is not only mutual respect and a passion for communication but also a shared entrepreneurial spirit. This was the decisive factor in our decision to join Paritee and take the next step in the history of the LHLK Gruppe”.
Paritee was founded in 2021 by Lars Erik Grønntun, former Global President of Hill & Knowlton, with the vision of creating a new type of agency platform and collaboration model. This platform brings together scaled ‘National Champion’ agencies in key markets, enabling them to cooperate for mutual benefit and provide clients with top-tier services and expert advice rooted in deep industry knowledge. Paritee focuses on agencies with a strong alignment to dynamic, high-value sectors such as technology, energy, healthcare, industry, and financial services, and now serves over 300 clients in these industry verticals.
Grønntun says: “I am pleased to see Paritee entering the German market, an important economy of scale with significant long-term growth potential. The acquisition of LHLK Gruppe represents an important step in preparing Paritee for further expansion within Germany and select markets across Continental Europe. Paritee continues to maintain discipline in expanding the platform, both by geographical markets and verticals. As we continue to grow, organically and through targeted acquisitions, we will focus our investments where it really makes a difference; for clients, talent and shareholders”.
In addition to becoming part of the Paritee platform, LHLK will also join the Brands2Life Global Network working alongside the existing members in Germany and beyond. Brands2Life Global Network has 20 partner agencies spread across 30 countries.
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