Diadeis acquires Alia; aims to be among top five, globally

Paris-headquartered Diadeis has acquired Alia Creative Consultants, India’s leading FMCG pre-media packaging firm of the Alia Group. With this 100% buyout, the new entity will be known as Diadeis-Alia.

02 May 2014 | By PrintWeek India

The 100% buyout will be executed in phases and will reach its concluding phase in the next couple of months.

The acquisition, according to Sethunath Padmanabhan, managing director, Diadeis India (formerly director at Alia Creative Consultants), has enabled Alia to increase its presence in the global market and improve its offering to the clients. 

“Today, the global pre-media trends are changing. The clients want a global footprint and faster turnaround times. With the Diadeis association, our offering to the brands have increased manifold; with regards to the service offering, technology advancements and global presence.”

The newly formed firm has added market communication service to its offering stable in the packaging segment. “The acquisition has resulted in the merger of the capacities of both the firms; clientele and technical know-how. The pre-media segment in India is still in the developing stage and thus, working in the global market requires special training and education to be imparted to the team. A permanent trainer has been posted at the Alia premises to acquaint and assist the Alia team. Vice-versa, it is important for the Diadeis team to blend in the Indian market, which is largely relationship-based.”

Jean-Charles Morisseau, chairman of Diadeis, said, “With the addition of Alia’s skills and expertise in India, Diadeis reinforces its position as a top player in the $ two-billion worth pre-media market. Alia has the right capacities to answer brand owners’ needs, be it globally or locally.” 

The Alia acquisition has marked the entry of Diadeis in the Asian market. To whether this is an Alia-exclusive move, Sethunath replied, “Diadeis is seeking to gain a stronghold in the Asian market. Alia’s 100% buyout is a step in this direction.” Morisseau added, “We are looking at two to three more acquisitions in other parts of Asia and the world to strengthen our global foot-print.”

Together Alia and Diadeis will build the business to offer global and customised solutions to Indian FMCG and auto majors. This makes it the third divestment for the Sanjeev Malhotra led Alia Group (previously he has divested to Future Group‘s Kishore Biyani and the Anand Deshpande led Persistent Systems).

Commenting on the merger, Sanjeev Malhotra, founder Alia Group and promoter Alia said, “We believe this is a win-win for both. Alia with its strong Asia, Middle East and South Africa presence will complement and enhance Diadeis’s global footprint”.  

He added, “Alia Group has created specialist firms in the Asia region, that are ahead of their times. We are fortunate that this is recognised by the global players and interest shown by them to invest in us and take these businesses to the next level.”