On the heels of acquiring São Paulo-based agency S/A Comunicação this week, Llorente & Cuenca president and founding partner José Antonio Llorente talks about what’s next for his firm.
Why acquire S/A Comunicação? What does it add to your business?
We have been [in Brazil] for eight years. We know our competitors, and we decided S/A had a lot of things we’d like to have. One is size, but also they have a similar position in the market in terms of focusing their business abilities in the corporate arena as well as digital. We understand the people and the management team and have common views on the market, and we decided to make the investment.
The team at S/A is a team of people that has been working as part of an international network already, so their capabilities are very fresh.
Was the goal to gain geographically or bring on new services?
The business of S/A is concentrated in São Paulo. That’s very interesting for us because São Paulo is exactly the place we wanted to grow our business. We are considering other acquisitions in Brazil, and we are working on different alternatives for the future. First thing was São Paulo and what S/A provided us.
You’re clearly on an acquisition spree. What’s next for the firm?
Next, we will be acquiring a business in the US – in Miami. We’re very close to signing the deal and making the announcement. We’re not ready yet to disclose, but it will be very soon. We will do more things in Brazil, so Brazil and Miami will be our next steps.
What other regions are you looking at? Even more long-term?
We are following opportunities in Latin America because we have made two recent acquisitions in Spain, but our business focus in Latin America and probably our next target, apart from Brazil and Miami, will be Latin American targets.
What are the other advantages of acquiring a Brazilian firm, other than the upcoming Olympics?
Our perspective is more long-term-oriented. Of course, we will take advantage of any opportunity, that, for instance, the Olympics present, but our focus is more long-term. For example, the city is not [at its best right now] in terms of business environment and economic situation. The two years we have ahead of us may not be very good for business development, but we are here in Brazil for more than the next two years and we have great confidence in the capabilities of the market. Brazil is a wonderful market, and we have a very good prospective for the future.
