South Korean ad firm Cheil Worldwide has acquired an unspecified stake in UK-based agency Iris, as it looks to expand its global presence.

Seoul-based Cheil said it has made a “significant initial investment” in Iris, whose clients include Adidas, Diageo and Reckitt Benckiser, with plans to assume complete ownership of the agency over the next five years.

Cheil, set up as Samsung’s in-house agency in the 1970s and still 18%-owned by the tech giant, said the partnership will “extend and deepen” both companies’ global capabilities across areas such as creativity, strategy, retail, digital and data.

Cheil Worldwide president and CEO Daiki Lim said he had watched Iris’ global growth in “awe”, and believes he has found the “right partner” to help it grow.

“Together with iris, we will provide a different level of service that is able to achieve amazing new creativity and offer best-in-class capabilities. This relationship is a key catalyst in our ambition to be the best possible partner to our clients to deliver ‘Ideas That Move’,” said Lim.

Ian Millner, joint chief executive at Iris, added: “We are about to enter the most exciting chapter for Iris. This partnership won’t change who we are or what we do as a creative innovation network – but will extend our global reach and capabilities, and enable our clients and people to benefit from the huge opportunity presented by a true ‘East Meets West’ and ‘West Meets East’ network.”

Cheil employs 5,000 globally, across 48 offices in 41 countries, while 1,000-strong Iris has 17 offices around the world.