Although he studied economics, Dario Vargas Linares’ vocation was film direction and he has just premiered his short film A Horse in the Bedroom at the Cartagena Festival, life took him on other paths. He was the director of such well-known soap operas as Why They Killed Betty, communications advisor to President Cesar Gaviria, an experience that paved the way for him to set up the consulting firm Dattis Comunicaciones.
Founded in 1998, it specialized in communications consulting for private sector companies, especially in times of reputational crisis. It became one of the country’s three largest corporate communications consulting firms, with important clients such as the Antioqueño Business Group. Vargas was the strategic head of Dattis during these more than 25 years but since this year he began to seek to resume his passion for cinema and literature, inherited from his father Germán Vargas Cantillo, one of the most beloved members of the Barranquilla Group . Finally, he managed to complete a great deal with the Spanish company Llorente y Cuenca to sell the company that has more than 100 employees, 80 clients, offices in Bogotá and Medellín and operations in Peru and Ecuador, with reported revenues of $25,526 million in 2023.
Llorente & Cuenca is a multinational that has been in Colombia since 2000, founded in 1995 by the Spanish José Antonio Llorente, who died on December 31, 2023 in Madrid. Since 2021, the global communications and public affairs consultancy, valued at 109.3 million euros at that time, began trading on BME Growth, which was previously known in Spain as Mercado Alternativo Bursatil (MAB) and each of Its shares were quoted at 9.39 euros. The acquisition of 100% of the Colombian Dattis was announced by the parent company Llorente & Cuenca SA (Llyc).
Llyc initially acquired a 78.69% stake and paid approximately €7.6 million for the company. The remaining percentage, 21.31%, will be purchased through an exchange of shares with the company resulting from the union with Llyc Colombia. This operation will be financed in its entirety by the banks Banco Santander and Caixabank.
Llyc reported that Dattis recorded an approximate turnover of 6.2 million euros in 2023 with a reported Ebitda of 1.6 million euros, financial solidity and zero debt. Through this operation, Dattis becomes part of the Llyc Group and will now operate under Dattis by LLYC.
The union of both companies will make the firm number one in professional services related to communication consulting and corporate relations in Colombia. Manager Andrés Ortiz will continue to lead the company as a Dattis by LLYC partner during 2024 and Camila Gómez will be President. Starting in 2025, already under the LLYC brand, Andrés Ortiz will lead the unified structure together with Camila Gómez and Alejandra Aljure, current general director of LLYC Colombia.
With the purchase of Dattis, the Spanish Llyc aims to double its size in the next three years and to meet that goal, it has undertaken a selective acquisition plan of companies that operate in the areas of creativity, innovation, technology or in strategic markets such as Spain, United States, Colombia, Mexico or Brazil. This is Llyc’s twelfth operation in the last nine years after the purchase of Lambert in the United States for a total amount of 18.2 million dollars.
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