It seems like retail therapy is not only for heartbroken twenty-something women looking to vent their misery on their credit cards. Dentsu, the worlds leading consolidated agency network has been shopping around as well, and has announced this week that it has acquired Steak Group, one of the industrys most respected digital media company.

Steak has offices in London, New York and Melbourne and their Australian clients include big names like Allianz, Virgin Holidays and Big W. Dentsu has also recently expressed intentions to build a presence here in Australia, with plans to start up office in Sydney with Toyota as its foundation client.

In November 2010, Dentsu announced, via their Dentsu Network West arm, that the company has its sights on Australia, to provide support for multinational clients and forge partnerships with local Australian businesses.

While the acquisition of Steak was driven by the companys European division, the access to Steaks local clients signal Dentsus further penetration into our market.

Jim Kelly, CEO of Dentsu Europe, said in a statement: I have followed Steaks progress since it started in 2005, and admire enormously what Ollie (Oliver Bishop, Co-founder and CEO) and his partners have achieved. Digital media is a cornerstone of Dentsu Network Wests growth strategy and this acquisition is a great step in offering class leading digital solution to our clients.

Dentsu had previously attempted to enter the local market through Sydney agency BAM but was unsuccessful. With Steak now part of the global conglomerate, industry speculates that Dentsus immersion into the Australian market will finally take place.