NEW YORK: Abernathy MacGregor Group is joining forces with its
overseas IR brethren in order to better sell its cross-border
capabilities to the investment banks and law firms that recommend such
agencies to clients.
Three of Havas Advertising's PR firms - Abernathy MacGregor, The
Maitland Consultancy in London, and Euro RSCG Omnium in Paris - have
formed an alliance to be named AMO International Financial
Communications.
Andy Merrill, Abernathy MD, explained how it would work: "The feeling is
with Alcatel, for example, that if we hadn't been in close contact with
Omnium then maybe only one of us would have worked with them." Both
Abernathy and Omnium were involved with the Alcatel-Lucent merger
discussions.
Now Alcatel is a retainer client for both firms.
The agencies will retain their own individual identities in each area,
but will specialize in advising clients on how to best communicate
cross-border mergers and acquisitions, international exchange listings,
and public offerings, among other things.
Merrill said that there are plans to add a German contingent to the
triumvirate. "In the next 12 months, we will acquire or identify one or
two individuals that we might hire," he said.
While this new operation secures the future position of three of Havas'
diversified firms in the network, there is still uncertainty about the
other agencies affected by the closure of the Diversified Agencies Group
last month. Where US healthcare shop Noonan Russo and UK PR network The
Grayling Group will sit is yet to be publicly disclosed. The intention
is to align all the agencies within the remaining three networks: Arnold
Worldwide Partners, Euro RSCG, and Media Planning Group.
