BANGKOK: Burson-Marsteller has sold its Thai office to seven local
managers.
This is the third office from which B-M has pulled out in the
Asia-Pacific region as part of its move to refocus on key markets.
B-M’s Bangkok office will become Aziam-Burson-Marsteller, a B-M
affiliate, under its existing managing director, Steve Vincent. B-M will
relinquish all equity in the new company, but will take an agreed
percentage of its income.
Aziam will continue to service B-M’s global clients, and will also seek
to develop local Thai clients in areas such as media relations and
issues management. Vincent expects to expand the current 22-strong staff
by three or four in the next six months.
B-M’s Asia-Pacific vice chairman, Martin Langford, said: ’It’s the same
team as before, the same clients and the name keeps the B-M branding.
The only difference is it’s not a B-M-managed operation.’
B-M’s Malaysia operation bought itself out in a similar arrangement
earlier this year (PR Week, 5 June). Meanwhile, B-M relinquished all
financial interest in its Adelaide, Australia office last February. The
Thai buy-out leaves B-M with eight wholly-owned offices in the
region.
B-M’s German public affairs practice has expanded into Bonn and Berlin
in the run-up to the relocation of the German parliament from Bonn to
Berlin next summer. Christof Klitz, who joined the agency in September,
becomes Bonn/Berlin public affairs director, reporting to European
government relations managing director Jeremy Galbraith.
