R/GA has regained its independent status and ended its 23-year stint with holding company IPG.

The news coincides with IPG being acquired by Omnicom.

R/GA has forged a new partnership with global management and private equity firm Truelink Capital. In June 2024, there were speculations around R/GA being bought by TCS. 

The management team leading the agency back to private business is headed by R/GA’s global CEO, Robin Forbes, and chair and global chief creative officer, Tiffany Rolfe. 

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

R/GA was formed in 1977. It was acquired by IPG in 2001.
  
According to a statement on the R/GA website, the agency's next deal will be fuelled by a USD 50 million innovation fund, enabling the company to invest in new skillsets and talent, and acquire new capabilities, emerging tools and platforms. R/GA has established a strategic advisory council of senior marketing and technology executives to support emerging AI client transformation opportunities across multiple sectors.

Forbes said, “Today is a landmark moment for R/GA, as we enter an exciting new chapter as a private company supported by our new partners at Truelink Capital. This announcement also signals a stark contrast to a wider trend towards consolidation in the agency business. Most agencies will struggle to make the pivot in this new age, especially at a time when they’re operating within complex agency structures, saddled with legacy business models. There’s never been a better time and there is no better company than R/GA to implement a new model for this new environment.”

Rolfe added, “At R/GA change is a feature, not a bug, and we believe in the power of brands to transform - which is what we do for clients, and now we’re doing it for ourselves. The dominant industry narrative around AI has focused largely on efficiency gains in the traditional marketing approach, which is only part of the equation. We are leaning into the creative potential to help brands differentiate themselves and exceed rising customer expectations through new kinds of intelligent experiences that haven’t been possible before. To us, it’s an opportunity to accelerate our world-class creative work through technology and design.”

Luke Myers, co-founder and managing partner, Truelink Capital, said, "We see the growth of AI enabled experiences playing an increasingly important role in unlocking value in marketing services. R/GA is both designed and perfectly positioned to help seize that new opportunity for clients. Which is why we’re so excited to back R/GA’s global leadership team through our strategic investment.”