NEW YORK: David Walke has made good on his statement to PRWeek two
months ago: He left Morgen-Walke, the IR firm he cofounded 19 years ago,
claiming he intended to pursue a then-undisclosed "entrepreneurial
dream."
And last week, a Walke-led investor group made a partial takeover of
Find/SVP, a publicly traded research and consulting service. Walke has
been named CEO of the operation.
"It's a professional services company with a number of similar business
strategies (to Morgen-Walke) - a diverse set of clients, and
retainer-based programs," said Walke.
Walke and partner Martin Franklin bought 2.5 million shares of Find/SVP
for dollars .80 per share. They also bought all of the 2,688,363 shares
and 422,222 warrants held by SVP, SA, and SVP International (the
company's largest shareholders), for the equivalent of dollars .80 per
share.
Franklin was named chairman of the board of directors. Andrew Garvin,
founder of Find/SVP, will continue as president and a director.
Find/SVP's stock gained more than half a point the day of the
announcement, but closed at its opening price. The following day, the
stock closed up .03 at dollars .83.
