Advertising titan,
WPP Group Plc.
(
WPPGY
) steps forward to expand its reach in France through the
acquisition of Paris-based, i&e SAS. The acquisition was
carried out through the company's global public relations and
public affairs firm, Burson-Marsteller. Financial terms of the
transaction were not disclosed.
The communications consultancy specializes in providing public
relation services and currently has staff strength of more than 110
people. As of December 2011, the agency generated over €13 million
in revenue and had €5 million in gross assets.
WPPGY's acquisitions and investments are all aimed at expanding
the company's operations in fast growing emerging markets and
enabling access to vast untapped markets in those regions. In the
fiscal year 2011, WPPGY made roughly 24 acquisitions in new
markets, 32 in new media and 8 in consumer insight. The
company's acquisition of i&e will enable WPPGY to expand its
client base in France by providing reputation management, brand
marketing and change management services.
Also, lately, WPPGY signed agreements to acquire assets of one
of the leading digital agencies, AKQA Holdings, Inc. The latter was
founded in 2001 and its clients include Delta, Diageo, EDF, GAP,
Google, Microsoft Xbox, Nike, Target, Unilever and Virgin Money,
among others.
AKQA Holdings employs over 1160 people. As of December 31, 2011,
the agency earned $189 million in revenues and had gross assets of
$282 million.
The current Zacks Consensus EPS Estimates for WPP plc are $5.65
and $6.31 for the fiscal years 2012 and 2013, respectively. The
estimates represent a year-over-year growth of 5.10% for 2012 and
11.52% for 2013.
This Dublin, Ireland-based advertising and communications
services provider competes with other industry players including
Interpublic Group of Companies Inc.
(
IPG
),
Omnicom Group Inc.
(
OMC
) and
Publicis Groupe SA
(PUBGY.PK).
We currently maintain a Neutral recommendation on WPPGY. The
stock also bears a Zacks #3 Rank, implying a short-term (1-3
months) Hold rating.
INTERPUBLIC GRP (IPG): Free Stock Analysis
Report
OMNICOM GRP (OMC): Free Stock Analysis Report
WPP PLC (WPPGY): Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment
Research