Aegis Buys U.S. Digital Agency Roundarch

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Aegis Group has acquired Roundarch, a U.S. digital agency with 250 employees and offices in Chicago, Denver, New York, and Boston. Roundarch will be added to Aegis's digital creative network, Isobar, and its roughly 200 employees. The combined entity will be burdened with the new name RoundarchIsobar.

Aegis has agreed to pay $125 million upfront for Roundarch, and will issue payouts linked to performance over five years. Aegis expects the total earn-out to be about $250 million, but that price could go as high as $360 million if RoundarchIsobar grows like gangbusters.

Roundarch's two senior-most execs - Geoff Cubitt and Jeff Maling (pictured, above and below) - will jointly lead the new agency. Meanwhile Isobar North America President Darryl Gehly will stay in that role.

Roundarch has completed work in a variety of channels for such clients as Motorola and the U.S. Air Force. For Avis it built a new site with search personas based on the client's most profitable customers. For HBO it created a multi-pronged experience spanning web, mobile, and social.

"A modern digital agency needs to be able to conceive new digital product ideas, design and build complex experiences and market these experiences to consumers. Through this combination of Roundarch and Isobar we are able to provide world-class capabilities in each of those areas," said Gehly in a statement.

Aegis is on a roll so far in 2012. Last month its media agency division, Carat, won GM's $3 billion consolidated media account.