JAKARTA — Interpublic Group PR firms Weber Shandwick and Golin have sold their Indonesia operations to longtime local MD Djohansyah Saleh, PRovoke Media has learned, after similar MBOs in Australia, Malaysia and Thailand over the past couple of years.

The firms' combined Indonesian presence numbered less than 30 people. Both firms agencies will retain their Weber Shandwick and Golin branding, respectively, and serve as affiliate partners within the IPG network.

A Weber Shandwick spokesperson noted that Saleh "will continue to be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the business, as he has since 2007" as head of operations for both agencies in the country.  

Indonesia joins other markets in which Weber Shandwick has made similar decisions over the past two years, amid broader concerns about the merits of global expansion. 

The firm divested from its Thailand operation at the start of this year, after selling its Australian operations, including sister firm Jack Morton, to group MD Helen Graney in January 2021. Local leaders in Dublin and Belfast completed similar MBOs from Weber Shandwick in 2020, while the firm's 15-person Kuala Lumpur office in Malaysia was sold to MD Rozani Jainudeen in January of the same year. In the US, multicultural marketing firm Axis was also spun off. 

The moves have been described as "a strategic refocusing by Interpublic Group on core markets," according to a source familiar with the situation.

The remainder of Weber Shandwick's Asia-Pacific footprint comprises much bigger operations in Greater China, India, Japan, Korea and Singapore.