Cannes Lions owner Ascential acquires Warc

Ascential, the publishing and events business and the owner of the Cannes Lions festival, has agreed to buy Warc, the media insight and information company.

It is hoped the deal, worth £24m, will strengthen Ascential’s digital product offering in the marketing space. Ascential said it intends to combine Warc with Cannes Lions’ The Work, to form a digital subscription product of scale.

“WARC is an important step forward as we continue to grow our digital offering, adding breadth and depth to our marketing proposition,” said Duncan Painter, CEO, Ascential.

“Alongside Cannes Lions’ The Work, our recent digital product launch, we will now have a digital subscription product of scale encompassing both creative excellence and marketing effectiveness.”[advert position=”left”]

The Cannes Lions festival announced the launch of The Work last month. The product is a new digital resource aimed at providing the creative industry with the intelligence it needs to do better business.

The Work enables users to search over 200,000 global pieces of creative work, curated playlists, and spotlights on the work of individual brands and agencies.

The acquisition of Warc, which will be funded from cash reserves and existing borrowing facilities, is expected to enhance Ascential’s earnings per share in the current financial year.