Stepping up its research marketing game, Ipsos has agreed to buy four divisions of GfK Research, Germany’s largest market research institute, in a deal worth €105m.
Ipsos will acquire the group’s health division, which focuses on market research for pharmaceutical, biotech, medical and healthcare technology companies, along with its public affairs unit.
It will also buy GfK’s customer experience business that operates around employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction and loyalty, and mystery shopping services.
GfK’s innovation arm, which incorporates research in car clinics, VR technology, user experience research, design and consulting, will also be taken over by Ipsos.
Peter Feld (pictured), chief executive officer of GfK, said: “The divestment of our Custom Research business is the next important step in transforming GfK into a truly technology enabled data analytics provider with a clear client centric focus on our core assets in our key industries and markets.
“We are very happy that Ipsos decided to acquire our Custom Research business and with that will become a great future home for our Custom Research employees.”
The acquisition will see almost 1,000 GfK staff join Ipsos across 25 countries, including the UK, US, Russia, China and Sweden to name a few.
Ipsos’ founder Didler Truchot says the deal arose due to the firm’s ambition to build in the areas of customer experience, innovation, healthcare and public affairs.
He said: “This deal furthers our goal to implement the Total Understanding project, a growth plan as close as possible to clients needs, and to make the Ipsos brand synonymous with excellence in providing a better understanding of Society, Markets and People.
“I look forward to welcoming the GfK Research teams to Ipsos and together strengthening our skills in these four key business areas, reinforcing a global powerhouse in market research, with the best talents in the industry.”