AKQA Announces New Investment Partner General Atlantic

AKQA Announces New Investment Partner General Atlantic

February 05, 2007

    SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 5 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- AKQA, a
leading interactive marketing agency, announced today that
it plans to accelerate its growth as a global independent
with the addition of its new investment partner, General
Atlantic LLC, a leading global private equity firm focused
on growth companies. AKQA's existing management team will
continue to hold a substantial stake in the business. The
terms of General Atlantic's investment were not disclosed.

    (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051213/DCTU050LOGO )

    A recognized pioneer in online marketing, AKQA uses
innovative ideas and technology to deliver results for the
world's leading brands including Coca-Cola, Nike, Microsoft
and Visa. For the second consecutive year, AKQA has received
Agency of the Year honors on both sides of the Atlantic.
AKQA was named Agency of the Year by OMMA Magazine in the
U.S. and Digital Agency of the Year by Marketing Magazine
in the U.K.

    "We are very pleased with this long-term
commitment by General Atlantic," said Tom Bedecarre,
CEO of AKQA. "Working with General Atlantic allows
AKQA to remain independent and concentrate on our work, our
employees and our clients." 

    Anton Levy, managing director of General Atlantic said,
"We're delighted to partner with Tom Bedecarre and Ajaz
Ahmed and their highly creative AKQA team. AKQA is a clear
leader in digital marketing with recent wins from
Coca-Cola, Diageo, Fiat and McDonald's. We will make our
global resources available to AKQA and its strong
management, and we look forward to a long and productive
association with AKQA."

    General Atlantic is an experienced long-term investor
in the Consumer & Media sector with significant current
or past investment partnerships including Dice, Zagat,
Priceline.com and E*trade..

    Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to AKQA.

    About AKQA

    AKQA is the leading independent digital marketing
agency with 500 employees in six locations: San Francisco,
New York, Washington D.C., London, Singapore and its newest
office in Shanghai. AKQA provides digital strategy, creative
and technology solutions to the world's leading marketers,
including Coca-Cola, Diageo, Microsoft, Nike, Unilever and
Visa. For more information about AKQA see
http://www.akqa.com .

    About General Atlantic

    General Atlantic LLC is a leading global private equity
firm providing capital for growth companies driven by
information technology or intellectual property. The firm
was founded in 1980 and has approximately $12 billion of
capital under management. General Atlantic has invested in
over 150 companies, with current holdings in 50 portfolio
companies of which about one-half are based outside the
United States. The firm is distinguished within the
investment community by its global strategy and worldwide
presence, its commitment to provide sustained value-added
assistance for its portfolio companies and its long-term
approach. General Atlantic has over 70 global investment
professionals among its 150 employees worldwide with
offices in Greenwich, New York, Palo Alto, London,
Dusseldorf, Hong Kong and Mumbai. For further information
and a listing of GA's public and private portfolio
companies see http://www.generalatlantic.com .


    For more information, please contact:

     Molly Parsley, AKQA
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

     Pat Hedley, General Atlantic
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail] 


SOURCE  AKQA