SAN FRANCISCO — Huntsworth has bolstered its healthcare capabilities by acquiring San Francisco agency Giant Creative Strategy for an initial sum of $72.2m from Shamrock Capital Growth Fund III.

The deal, for an agency which reported revenue of around $32m in 2017, could rise to as much as $97.2m. Huntsworth has purchased 90.2% of Giant's equity, with the remaining 9.8% held by Giant's senior management, including CEO Steven Gold and president Adam Gelling.

The remainder of Giant's shares will be subject to put and call rights based on a multiple of Giant's earnings during the earn-out, up to a maximum of $25m. Giant's EBITDA in 2017 was around $7m.

Giant, one of the West Coast's largest independent healthcare marketing agencies, will be combined with Huntsworth's existing healthcare agencies, led by New York's Evoke, in a bid to add scale at a time when many healthcare clients are seeking fewer, larger agencies. Giant currently has 150 staffers and  and derives around 70% of its revenue from marketing to healthcare professionals, a key growth area for Huntsworth.

"Giant is a strong addition to the Group, bringing scale in healthcare professional marketing especially in the fast growth biotech sector and is led by an outstanding management team who will continue to be invested alongside us in the business," said Huntsworth CEO Paul Taaffe (pictured). "This expansion of Huntsworth makes it an even more compelling alternative to the large holding company networks."