Avenue A/Razorfish continued its international expansion with the purchase of e-Crusade, a small Hong Kong-based digital shop that gives the aQuantive agency entrée to the booming Chinese Internet market.

Seven-year-old e-Crusade offers Web creative and media services for clients like Coca-Cola, HSBC, Nike and Microsoft's Xbox. Last year, it relaunched the Hong Kong Web sites for Coke and Nike.

In addition to its Hong Kong office, the 43-person agency recently started an outpost in Shanghai. Avenue A/Razorfish worldwide president Clark Kokich said the Chinese Web market, which is growing at 50 percent annually, will easily outpace growth in the more mature U.S. market.

The acquisition is "focused on our desire to have a global footprint," he said. "You can't have that without China, period."

The acquisition is the latest in a spate of purchases aQuantive has made abroad to expand the reach of Avenue A/Razorfish, the largest Internet agency in the United States. Last December, the company began its international push by acquiring DNA in the United Kingdom. "We feel now we have a basic global footprint," Kokich said. "Our focus can shift to winning and serving global clients. But that said, there are other markets we're going to look at."

The price paid for e-Crusade will be based on its performance over the next four years, with $3 million paid upfront. E-Crusade expects to make a profit on net revenue of $500,000 to $600,000 this year. The shop will keep its brand and continue operating under its current management team, led by co-founders Royce Lee and Venus Lee.

The fast-growing China market is a lure for digital shops. Last week, independent shop AKQA opened a Shanghai office to work with Coke and other clients in the run-up to the Summer Olympics in 2008.

Source:佚名