BrazilMcKinsey & Company acquires Argentinian digital agency Lobo
Global strategy advisory McKinsey & Company has purchased Argentina-based Lobo. The digital agency will double the size of the consultancy’s digital commerce and operations team in the Americas.
Founded in 2016, Lobo is a digital agency which helps both established businesses and digital-native start-ups realize their campaigns. The company has grown significantly in the past six years, buoyed by a string of successful engagements. Recently, for example, the company helped a fragrance company increase revenue by over 1,000%, and a medical insurer boost lead volume by 85%.
The firm’s ability to help its clients maximize their sales has seen client demand pick up around the world – and Lobo now works across 25 industries and in 15 countries.
Lobo’s growth has also caught the eye of the world’s largest strategy consultancy which has swooped to pick up the promising young firm for an undisclosed fee.
The deal sees the full Lobo team join McKinsey & Company, a move which doubles the size of its digital commerce and operations team in the Americas. This in turn will form the core of a new capability hub based in Buenos Aires, Argentina – serving clients in Latin America and North America.
McKinsey is already aware of the potential synergies of the move – having been partnering with Lobo for three years already. According to Stephan Zimmerman – a McKinsey Senior Partner who leads the firm’s digital marketing analytics group for the Americas, the firm has all the qualities needed to help McKinsey make the most of rising digital demand in the region.
Zimmerman observed, “[The region is experiencing a digital revolution due to] a convergence of factors that are hitting all at once – a digital-savvy population, booming smartphone penetration, fast growing tech start-ups and unicorns, and surging ecommerce growth… Lobo brings together a great team of experts who can get on-the-ground quickly and help our clients accelerate to a world-class level of digital marketing.”
Meanwhile, the deal presents Lobo with the chance to expand onto the global stage. McKinsey has offices in 130+ cities in 65+ countries, and in Central and South America the firm has offices in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Panama and Peru.
“By joining McKinsey, we can give our people the ultimate opportunity,” noted co-founder Facundo Bonfigli. “They will be able to work on a variety of challenges and projects they might not have had otherwise, and have the chance to create new, innovative solutions.”
The deal is McKinsey’s second in 2022. In February, the consulting firm bought Budapest-based digital consultancy IncepTech. In 2021, McKinsey closed five deals, two in Australia, two in Europe, and Candid Partners in the US.
