Ykone buys majority stake in Indian influencer agency Barcode

French group Ykone has extended its international presence. The group is a major player in the influencer marketing sector, and was sold in 2022 by the TF1 group to investment firm Future Technology Retail, the French subsidiary of Saudi private equity firm BinDawood Holding. Ykone has announced it has bought a 70% stake in Indian agency Barcode, one of the country’s leading specialists in marketing content and influencer marketing.

The value of the transaction was not specified by Ykone, which in 2017 had opened an office in Bangalore, India. In a press release, the group said that “the acquisition of Barcode further strengthens Ykone’s position, with a turnover of $100 million and a workforce of over 300 employees.” Before the acquisition, Ykone had 155 employees, and it reported a revenue of $84 million in fiscal 2023. Olivier Billon, founder and boss of Ykone, said that the acquisition “is a significant step for Ykone and its international expansion,” extending the group’s reach in India and in “the broader Asia-Pacific region.”

Ykone was founded in 2008 and is established in 18 major cities worldwide, including Hong Kong, Dubai, Milan, Paris and Las Vegas. In the last two years, it scaled up its operations by acquiring two leading agencies in Italy and Germany. Ykone is best-known for its proprietary digital influencer marketing platform called Campaygn, which enables its hundred or so clients – chiefly luxury labels like Burberry, Gucci, Chloé, Hugo Boss and Prada- to follow and manage social media campaigns in real time.

Barcode was founded in 2019 by Rahul Khanna. It currently has a staff of 150 and operates via three offices. Among its clients, multinationals like Unilever, Amazon, YouTube, Myntra, Warner Music, MG Motors, Budweiser, and Glance, as well as luxury brands like Chopard. Barcode relies on a network of over 350,000 influencers, with whom it has staged over 40,000 brand collaborations in recent years.

According to a report by Bain & Co., the luxury market in India is expected to be worth $200 billion by 2030. Barcode’s acquisition is therefore a key move for Ykone, helping the group establish its position in one of the fastest-growing high-end consumer goods markets worldwide, with a vast audience of over 500 million people on social media.

“The talent management branch of Barcode, known as Click Media, represents more than 20 famous Indian influencers and actors such as Rohit Zinjurke (with 30 million followers) and Karishma Sharma (with 2.2 million followers). This adds significant value to Ykone’s portfolio and enhances their ability to connect brands with high-profile influencers in the Indian market,” stated the French group.