BOSTON: After resisting a number of offers from other firms, Agnew, Carter, McCarthy has been acquired by Manning, Selvage & Lee.
BOSTON: After resisting a number of offers from other firms, Agnew,
Carter, McCarthy has been acquired by Manning, Selvage & Lee.
The merger, which combines ACM’s generalist practice with MS&L/Boston’s
hi-tech focus, creates a dollars 6 million firm that would have placed
eighth in PRWeek’s Boston agency rankings (PRWeek, July 26). The newly
merged agency, which will be called Agnew Carter/MS&L, will be based out
of ACM’s offices and employ 55 pros.
While terms of the deal were not disclosed, Skip Pile, president of
management consulting firm Pile & Co., said ACM could have fetched a
price between dollars 2.1 to dollars 5 million in cash and/or stock,
assuming the shop is profitable.
MS&L was an unlikely suitor for ACM, given that the agency already had a
Boston office and that other global firms, including Ruder Finn, Cohn &
Wolfe and Rowland Worldwide, were said to be in the hunt for a Boston
shop.
But MS&L/Boston is rumored to have experienced difficulties in recent
months and recently lost managing director Anne Wright to Hill &
Knowlton.
MS&L chairman and CEO Lou Capozzi denied that the acquisition was
related to MS&L/Boston’s performance.
’Agnew, Carter, McCarthy is a perfect complement to the rest of our
business,’ said Capozzi. ’Our Boston office was exclusively hi-tech, and
ACM handles corporate, healthcare and consumer, which are our four
global practice areas.’
Lew Carter becomes managing director of Agnew Carter/MS&L and Jack Agnew
becomes senior counsel. The management team will also include SVPs Phil
Gloudemans, Sandy Judd, Jon Kasle and Bea Schembri. Agnew Carter/MS&L’s
four practice areas will be headed by local practice leaders who will
collaborate with their counterparts in other MS&L outposts.
’One of the things that was most intriguing about MS&L is its collegial
work atmosphere,’ said Carter. ’The chemistry between the two firms is
terrific, and as the market changes, the depth of service that MS&L can
provide is a real asset.’
ACM had 1998 income of dollars 3,656,451, while MS&L/Boston notched
dollars 1,799,500.
