- Noreen O'Leary

NEW YORK Dentsu USA said it has acquired mcgarrybowen in an all-cash deal.

The independent agency will operate as an autonomous entity within Dentsu and report to Tim Andree, the CEO of Dentsu's domestic operations. Mcgarrybowen has offices in New York and Chicago and operates a digital unit known as Continuity.

Mcgarrybowen's chief executive John McGarry, chief creative officer Gordon Bowen and chief strategic officer Stewart Owen will continue in those roles. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The agency was founded in 2002 by former Young & Rubicam execs McGarry and Owen, who teamed up with Bowen, a former Ogilvy & Mather creative director best known for his work on American Express and AT&T. Fueled by the well-connected McGarry's client contacts, mcgarrybowen quickly became New York's largest independent agency.

Mcgarrybowen works with clients such as JPMorgan Chase, Kraft, Disney, Marriott, Chevron, Pfizer, HP, Reebok International, Crayola, InBev, Century 21, News Corp., The Wall Street Journal and the U.S. Olympic Committee.

"At Dentsu, we have always created, staffed and grown our agencies based on client needs," Andree said in a statement. "We knew from our first meeting with mcgarrybowen that this kind of inherent commitment to client service is core to both of our agencies' cultures."
 
McGarry said the transaction affords his agency better global reach: "More and more, our clients demand global capabilities and this will allow us to continue to serve our clients better."
 
Andree, a former Dentsu client at Canon and Toyota, joined in 2006 as its first American chief and is in the process of building a U.S. presence for the agency, which is primarily regarded as a domestic outpost for Japanese clients. (Related: "Andree Rises at Dentsu.")

In October 2007 he led the acquisition of digital and design consultancy Attik, based in San Francisco and Leeds, England.

Andree has also invested in talent, recruiting Ogilvy group creative Mike Wilson as CCO in 2006, who earlier this year hired Digitas' Lawrence Orleck as interactive cd. This summer, Andree also elevated Attik president Will Travis to a senior business development role at Dentsu.