Dentsu and Itochu to take Dentsu Soken off the stock market

Dentsu Group and Itochu have agreed a deal over Dentsu Soken. Dentsu Soken is Dentsu’s technology and consulting arm, and its shares are traded in Tokyo. The two companies want to take it off the stock market and run it together. Itochu will make the offer through a company called G.K. VIC, which it set up with a subsidiary called IFP. It will offer 2,880 yen for each share Dentsu does not already own. That could cost up to 215.2 billion yen, or about 1.4 billion dollars. Dentsu Group has agreed not to sell its own shares. It keeps 61.78 percent, so Itochu can get at most 38.22 percent.

The price is 34.96 percent higher than the closing price on 1 July, before talk of a deal started. Compared with the closing price on 27 August it is only 5.15 percent higher. The offer is expected to open in early November. First, competition authorities in Japan, China and the European Union have to approve it. The offer will then run for about 20 working days. Around March 2027 the companies plan to combine the remaining shares so that small shareholders are bought out. After that Dentsu Soken will leave the Prime market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The board of Dentsu Soken supports the offer. The company was separated from Dentsu in 1975 and listed on the stock market in 2000. It builds and advises on computer systems for banks and manufacturers, and it runs an AI development centre.

Itochu brings FamilyMart screens seen by 15 million people a day

Both groups describe the deal as the heart of a wider partnership. Dentsu Soken will work with Itochu Techno-Solutions on computer systems. Dentsu Inc. will work with two Itochu data businesses, Data One and Gate One, on retail media, meaning ads sold by shops. Itochu owns the FamilyMart chain of convenience stores. It brings the in-store Famima TV screens, which reach about 15 million visitors a day, and Data One, which has more than 60 million linked customer records. Dentsu brings the advertisers. Both sides say that taking Dentsu Soken off the stock market will let it decide faster and invest for longer, without having to report every quarter.

The deal also brings Dentsu Group money at a difficult time. Dentsu reported a record net loss of 327.6 billion yen for 2025, after writing down 310.1 billion yen on its agencies outside Japan. It stopped paying a dividend. In February it dropped a plan to sell its international business and decided to rebuild it instead, under a new global chief executive, Takeshi Sano. Dentsu says the deal will have little effect on its 2026 results.

Regulators, China included, must clear the deal during 2026

The main obstacle is approval by regulators, and China’s decision in particular can take time. If the timetable holds, Dentsu will end 2026 with less of its business listed on the stock market and with a partner whose shop data it can sell to advertisers. Western holding companies have been trying to build similar links with retailers.