Group Press Releases
Acquisition of Applied Information for Marketing, Inc. Extends Aegis' Capabilities in Marketing and Media Evaluation
27 March 2000
Aegis Group plc ("Aegis") — the media communications and market research group - announced today that it had acquired a 100% interest in Applied Information for Marketing, Inc. ("AIM") a marketing evaluation company based in Westport, Connecticut, USA.The initial consideration of £5.5 million ($8.8 million) is payable in cash on closing; there is also a deferred cash consideration, subject to challenging performance criteria, payable over the next two years. AIM had revenues of approximately £4.0 million ($6.4 million) in 1999 and net assets of approximately £0.8 million ($1.2 million) as at 31 December 1999.
AIM is a leading provider of promotion evaluation analysis and software to the US consumer packaged goods industry.
The acquisition of AIM is consistent with Aegis' strategy of developing its Decision Systems capabilities across its media communications and market research businesses. The Decision Systems product offering includes a number of exciting technologies and businesses that will further extend our competitive advantage by offering clients the ability to distil key marketing and communications trends from base data. It also complements Aegis' acquisition of Media Marketing Assessment ("MMA") in 1997.
Commenting on the announcement Douglas Flynn, Chief Executive of Aegis, said:
"Aegis is committed to providing total marketing communications services and strategies and to developing its Decision System capabilities. AIM, through its software and analytical services, extends our services into the field of promotion evaluation, just as Media Marketing Assessment (MMA) took us into the marketing mix evaluation arena."
"Together, AIM and MMA will bring the marketing community a new level of insight into total return on investment. Furthermore, both AIM and MMA have known and worked together for several years and share similar cultures of innovation."
Josey Anstey, Chief Executive Officer of AIM, said:
"We are excited to be joining Aegis. The combination of AIM’s presence in promotion evaluation and the strength of MMA in North America will enable both companies to expand the range of products and services that we can offer to our clients. We believe that both our clients and our employees will benefit from this business combination."
About Aegis Group plc:
Aegis is listed on the London Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of approximately £2.4 billion and is the holding company for Carat, Market Facts and Asia Market Intelligence. In 1999, Carat had net billings of approximately US$10.3 billion, Market Facts had annualised revenue of US$160 million and AMI had annualised revenue of US$37 million.
For further information please contact:
Douglas Flynn, Chief Executive Officer
Colin Day, Group Finance Director
Aegis Group plc
Tel: +44 (0)20 7470 5000
Tim Spratt / Charles Palmer
Financial Dynamics
Tel:+44 (0)20 7831 3113
Josey Anstey, Chief Executive Officer
Applied Information for Marketing, Inc.
Tel: 00 1 203 226 0316
