WPP makes second acquisition in a week

Jennifer Whitehead,, brandrepublic.com, Thursday, 22 November 2001, 10:51am,

LONDON - WPP Group has announced its second acquisition in the space of the week with the purchase of 100% of sports marketing agency Global Sportnet.

Global Sportnet specialises in acquiring broadcasting rights for European football clubs and associations. It currently handles rights agreements for Rangers and Celtic, Italian teams Juventus, Inter Milan and SL Benfica, as well as the Greek Football Association.

The company is based in Hamburg and employs 16 people. Its turnover was £822,000 in 2000. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

After the acquisition, expected to be completed in January 2002, Global Sportnet will sit under the umbrella of WPP's branding and identity, healthcare and specialist communications division.

Last week, WPP acquired US strategic research and polling consultancy Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates. The agency is famous for working on former president Bill Clinton's successful re-election campaign in 1996. This month also saw WPP agree, finally, on its acquisition of media-buying company Tempus Media.

WPP shares were trading up 3.93% this morning, at 688p.

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This article was first published on brandrepublic.com