stake in the agency in 2012, buying out General Atlantic and taking part of the shares that had been owned by AKQA's management. The total company valuation based on the deal was $540 million. At the time, there had been a trend of marketing holding companies purchasing digital agencies, and AKQA had been considered the largest digital agency that was still independent. AKQA became an autonomous subsidiary of WPP, with Ahmed as its CEO and Bedecarré as Chairman. According to the Financial Times, by the time of WPP's acquisition, AKQA had been named "agency of the year" 19 times, and it had received five Cannes Lions awards within the previous year. The firm received the Queen's Awards for Enterprise in 2014, in the "Innovation" category for "consistent contribution and outstanding achievement". The following year, the agency won four gold Cannes Lions and had received the most awards of any other UK digital agency at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2015. In November 2020, WPP announced that Grey Group would be merged with AKQA, as part of the holding company's efforts to consolidate its agencies. The AKQA and Grey brands continued to exist separately, and WPP said it planned to combine the companies over time into one resulting agency named AKQA Group. The two agencies had approximately 6,000 employees in 50 countries, and had received a total of around 600 Cannes Lions awards since 2010. Operations The agency is majority owned by WPP and operates as an autonomous subsidiary. It is managed by founder and chief executive, Ajaz Ahmed, and AKQA is named for his initials. The agency's services include experience design, as well as product and spatial design. The company is known for its focus on technology and innovation, including web and mobile app development, e-commerce and interactive campaigns. As of 2020, prior to the merger with Grey Group, AKQA had approximately 2,000 employees globally, in around 30 studios. The agency's locations included studios in: Europe in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom; in the US, Brazil and El Salvador; in Asia in China, India, Japan, and Singapore; in Australia and New Zealand; and in Africa and the Middle East in Egypt, the UAE and South Africa. Major work In 2005, the agency designed the user interface for the Xbox 360, creating a dashboard and guide for users to navigate the gaming and entertainment