We have advised Lonsdale, a French leader among independent branding and design firms operating in France and Singapore, on the acquisition of New York-based branding & design agency forceMajeure.
Lonsdale is a Paris and Singapore-based branding & design firm with a legacy, dating back to its foundation in 1961, of carrying out award-winning work for multiple blue-chip clients across consumer, corporate and retail branding. The company is managed by a team led by French entrepreneur Frédéric Messian.
Following its successful installation in Singapore in 2022, fast-growing independent branding and design group Lonsdale is combining expertise with NY-based forceMajeure to offer brands a new independent, and multicultural, model. The aim of the new global offering powered by Lonsdale is to deliver the benefit of a global scale with a local touch, with centres of excellence in key locations, providing an original alternative to the very exclusive club of international networks.
Founded in 1998, forceMajeure is a New York-based, award-winning creative agency, with 25 years of experience in Strategy, Branding, Design and Communication in the spirits & wines, beauty and luxury industries, with leading clients including Hennessy, Unilever, Diageo, and Campari. Laurent Hainaut, CEO of forceMajeure, will become a shareholder in Lonsdale and will join the group’s strategic committee.
Operating globally and headed by Frédéric Messian since 2007, Lonsdale is recognised as one of the leading design agencies in Europe and Asia for consumer brands, corporate branding, and brand experience. Lonsdale offers powerful brand management solutions that work across the full spectrum of content channels, for a client roster of leading brands such as Unilever, L'Oréal, Henkel, Heineken, Diageo, LVMH and Renault. It will now be positioned in the top tier of the world’s design players, with a collective of 260 client leaders, strategists and designers working from hubs in Paris, New York, and Singapore, and delivering a turnover of €40m.
