Omnicom acquires majority of CX Lavender after administration process

Omnicom Oceania has acquired the majority of CX Lavender, bringing the former independent agency into its network months after it entered voluntary administration.

The deal includes CX Lavender’s brand, proprietary technology assets and a team of approximately 20 employees.

The deal follows a difficult period for CX Lavender, which entered voluntary administration earlier this year as administrators assessed options for the business, including a possible sale.

Founded by Will Lavender in 1997, CX Lavender became one of Australia’s better-known independent customer experience agencies, building its reputation across loyalty, customer experience, digital platforms and transformation work.

The business went through leadership changes last year, with long-time CX Lavender executive Clint Bauer stepping into the CEO role after the departure of Adam Washington, while Will Lavender moved into the role of chairman.

Washington has since gone on to found AI infrastructure business Stealth, while Bauer is co-founder & chief technology officer at CXTX.

Nick Garrett, chief executive officer of Omnicom Oceania, said the acquisition strengthens the group’s customer experience capability.

“Customer experience has become a whole-of-business challenge for clients, and this acquisition accelerates our customer experience capabilities across the group,” Garrett said.

“The partnership marks another step in Omnicom Oceania’s progress moving beyond a traditional media and creative model into a broader marketing and customer transformation business.”

Adrian Paul, chief operating officer of Omnicom Oceania, said CX Lavender’s team, technical capability and client relationships were central to the acquisition.

Paul said the acquisition would preserve CX Lavender’s “independent spirit and culture” while backing it with Omnicom’s scale.

“What attracted us most was the quality of the team, their technical capability and the strong client partnerships they’ve built over many years,” he said.