Dentsu is set to fold its technology consulting arm Merkle into its broader Australia and New Zealand operations, following last week’s move to merge its media divisions.

As part of the restructure, Merkle will sell its Salesforce practice in ANZ to US-based holding company Enduring Ventures, which will spin it out into a new standalone business.

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026.

The remaining Merkle capabilities — and a team of 50 people — will be redistributed across the business, with experience and commerce functions moving into Dentsu Creative, while a new centralised data and analytics unit will be established under the leadership of Danica Bellchambers.

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In the same vein as the media integration announced last week, Merkle will cease to exist as a standalone brand in ANZ, with clients serviced under the Dentsu umbrella, except in the case of international client arrangements.

“Clients are telling us they want a clearer, more direct way to work with us,” Dentsu ANZ CEO Rob Harvey said in a statement.

“These changes are about responding to that by sharpening our focus on what we do best and making it easier for clients to access the full strength of Dentsu.”

“Last week, we announced our move to bring our media brands together under one united media proposition. Today’s changes are the next step in our strategy to build a more connected dentsu across ANZ by integrating experience, commerce, data and technology capabilities into our core business and continuing to invest in what our clients value most.”

Merkle’s ANZ leaders Paul Whittaker and Gareth Reason will move to the yet-to-be-named Salesforce-focused company alongside the bulk of Merkle’s 130 local Salesforce staff, Mumbrella understands.

“I want to thank the Merkle Salesforce team for their contribution to Dentsu over many years,” Harvey added. “They have built strong client relationships and a business that is well-positioned for its next chapter. ”

According to Dentsu’s most recent Australian results, the business posted $196m in revenue, of which $115m came from media services, $45m from consulting, and $35m from production.

Mumbrella understands that Merkle’s contribution sits primarily within the consulting numbers, among other capability areas.

The company also posted a $76m loss, largely driven by impairment charges, including a $25.8m write-down.