Australian Insight Firms Fiftyfive5 and GalKal to Merge

Australian firms Fiftyfive5 and GalKal have merged, creating what they say is the country's 'largest independent consumer insights company', following an investment by private equity firm Mercury Capital.

Fiftyfive5, which was launched in 2010 by three former Directors of The Leading Edge: Karen Phillips, Mark Sundquist and Darren Kemp, has a team of 80 in Sydney, Singapore and Auckland. Brand development and consumer insights agency GalKal was founded in 1997 as Galileo Brand Development Company and then merged with qual agency Kaleidoscope. It has senior teams in Sydney, Melbourne and Singapore.

The combined business will have a team of 115 and more than 130 clients across 40 countries serving multiple industries including financial services, telecoms, FMCG, media and entertainment, social and government and healthcare. To facilitate the merger and help with further investment in talent, technology and capability, private equity firm Mercury Capital has invested an undisclosed amount in the combined business.

The current leaders of both firms will continue to drive the new combined business. Brent Wallace, co-founder of GalKal, said the two would be 'stronger together' and will offer clients 'unparalleled expertise' in insight-driven strategies. Sundquist added: 'We are really excited about the opportunities the merger with GalKal delivers and feel are we are now even better positioned to help our clients get the customer to the heart of their decision making'.

Web sites: www.fiftyfive5.com and www.galkal.com.au .