REG-Next Fifteen Comm AcquisitionReleased: 04/08/2009
LONDON--(Business Wire)--
Next Fifteen Communications Group plc
Acquisition of M Booth & Associates
Next Fifteen Communications Group plc ("Next Fifteen") announces that it has
acquired New York based M Booth & Associates Inc ("M Booth"), a leading consumer
PR consultancy in North America whose clients include Unilever, J C Penney and
Remy Cointreau USA. M Booth is the next step in Next Fifteen`s strategy to build
a global consumer agency, having recently completed the last stage in the
acquisition of Lexis Public Relations, one of the top five consumer PR
consultancies in the UK. The aim is to integrate these businesses over time and
have them work on further international expansion together. The addition of M
Booth to the Next Fifteen Group will also strengthen the ability of its other
agencies, which primarily service technology clients to offer a broader range of
services. Furthermore, M Booth will benefit from the advanced social media
skills that Next Fifteen has developed through its work with leading technology
brands.
M Booth has been built up by Margi Booth and Brad Rodney over the past 25 years.
They will both remain with the business in their current respective roles and
sit on the M Booth Board reporting to Tim Dyson, Next Fifteen CEO.
M Booth has been acquired from Margi Booth and Brad Rodney. The initial
consideration is $4 million, paid in cash at completion. Deferred consideration
of up to a maximum of $13.25 million may be payable over the course of the next
4 years subject to the achievement of certain revenue and profit performance
targets. The total maximum consideration is therefore $17.25m. Any deferred
consideration that may become payable may be satisfied by cash or up to 25% in
Next Fifteen shares, at the option of Next Fifteen.
For the year ended 31 December 2008 M Booth had consolidated revenues of $10.4
million and profit before tax of $1 million. The consolidated gross assets at 31
December 2008 were $4.3 million. The business will be acquired with $1.5 million
of net working capital.
"Recessions are times when you find out which agencies have a future," said Tim
Dyson, CEO of Next Fifteen. "In M Booth we see an agency that has tremendous
ambition and sees this economy as a chance to prove to clients the difference
great PR can make to the brand and their bottom line. We saw the same in Lexis
in London and as these businesses start to work together to build a global
business I believe they`ll make a significant impact on the way PR is done
globally."
Margi Booth, Chief Executive of Booth, said: "This is an important step in our
evolution. We have been working with global brands for many years, and are
excited to partner with Lexis to build a great consumer business around the
world. We also look forward to working with the other Next Fifteen agencies to
add important consumer services to their portfolios"
About M Booth
M Booth & Associates is the communications agency of choice that champions power
brands. Its clients rely on the agency for brand insight and for its creative
brand-building programs that match business strategy. With a staff of 65, the
firm focuses on consumer products, online brands, travel/lifestyle, corporate,
consumer health, and fashion/retail. M Booth recently created a "Better For You"
practice that targets consumer food, beverage and health sectors. Its First Word
Digital group offers a suite of digital and social media tools. For more
information, visit www.mbooth.com.
About Next Fifteen
Next Fifteen Communications Group plc is the holding company for a group of
worldwide PR consultancies. Prior to the above acquisition it owned four
independent subsidiary PR agencies that operate as autonomous businesses. It
also owns two research businesses and has an investment in a policy
communications business. Between them these businesses have 38 offices in 18
countries. The Group has established itself as a leader in digital public
relations. The focus on digital PR comes naturally to the Group given that the
majority of the Group's clients are in the technology industry, and include
global names such as IBM, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Facebook and Cisco. Over the last
few years the Group`s strategy has broadened and to include non-technology
clients. This strategy was particularly helped by the acquisition of Lexis
Public Relations in 2005. The Group now works with brands such as Coca-Cola,
Whirlpool, TOTAL, Dove, Nokia and the Barclays Premier League. For more
information, visit www.nextfifteen.com.
For further information, please contact:
Next Fifteen Communications Group plc
Tim Dyson, Chief Executive +1 415 350 2801
David Dewhurst, Finance Director +44 (0)20 8846 0771
Canaccord Adams Limited
Mark Williams +44 (0)20 7050 6500
Adria Da Breo Richards
Next Fifteen Communications Plc
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