NEW YORK: Havas Advertising has swooped on IR shop Abernathy McGregor Group for an estimated dollars 80 million, after Cordiant Communications made an unprecedented retreat from the bidding.
NEW YORK: Havas Advertising has swooped on IR shop Abernathy McGregor Group for an estimated dollars 80 million, after Cordiant Communications made an unprecedented retreat from the bidding.
Havas is understood to have agreed to pay dollars 45 million up front with a further dollars 35 million earn-out if targets are met.
Abernathy's revenues are said to be in excess of dollars 20 million. Founder James Abernathy said: 'We intend to take the Abernathy McGregor brand and build it in the US and overseas.'
Abernathy and partner James McGregor have decided to give away more than dollars 5 million to all members of staff.
The agency, which has worked on 50 transactions this year for the likes of Vivendi and Viacom, will sit in the diversified agencies group headed by Patrick Lemarchand.
Havas Advertising also snapped up Middleberg + Associates earlier this year and counts Magnet Communications and the UK's Hudson Sandler among its PR assets.
Buyers still have the choice of a number of other independent IR practices including Kekst & Co., Joele Frank, Brainerd Communications and The Torrenzano Group.
