The Interpublic Group has reached agreement to acquire Delaney Lund Knox Warren (DLKW), a premier full-service communications agency based in London, from Creston Group. A top-10 U.K. agency, DLKW works with leading marketers across the full-range of communications disciplines, from advertising and public relations, to promotions and digital marketing campaigns.
DLKW will be combined with Lowe London, which will be re-named DLKW Lowe and serve as one of the Lowe Worldwide network’s key “hub market” agencies. In this capacity, DLKW Lowe will continue to provide a full range of marketing communications services to its current roster of clients, which includes many leading British companies and brands, as well as to existing Lowe multinational clients, such as Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Electrolux, Nestlé, Ericsson and Pfizer.
Interpublic will pay approximately $40 million in cash for DLKW. This includes a minority investment on the part of the agency’s current senior executive team, led by Chairman Greg Delaney and Joint-CEOs Tom Knox and Richard Warren, who will all continue to serve in their existing management roles at the new DLKW Lowe and will report to the Lowe Worldwide management of Chairman Tony Wright and CEO Michael Wall. The DLKW management team was advised by Clarity. Completion of the transaction is subject to approval by Creston shareholders, which is expected to occur at a shareholder meeting on July 13th, 2010.
“The progress we have seen at Lowe in recent years continues to be an important part of the larger IPG story. The agency is a global creative powerhouse, it has been growing with key multinationals and it has a great leadership team in Tony and Michael,” said Michael I. Roth, Interpublic’s Chairman and CEO. “When they told us of the opportunity to bring an agency of DLKW’s caliber into the Lowe network, it was clearly something that we had to pursue. The strength of the new management team and the combined agency in the key London market will accelerate the positive trajectory that Lowe is on. This move will also complement the steps we’ve taken over the past 24 months to create strong and vital Lowe hub agencies in Brazil, India and the United States. The enthusiasm of the DLKW team for Lowe as an international partner was such that they have chosen to join us as investors. This is particularly noteworthy as it demonstrates the strength of our alignment and of our commitment to making DLKW Lowe a great success story.”
Lowe Worldwide CEO Michael Wall added, “DLKW have a celebrated history of successful, populist creative campaigns that deliver in-market for a broad range of major clients. We are pleased to be in a position to work with such an established senior team, who are high caliber professionals with a proven record of performance and growth, as well as good people. This combination of great talent and complementary cultures is why I believe that both agency brands will inspire each other to achieve more – as both a leading UK agency and as an important part of Lowe’s global network.”
“We have been looking for a strong international partner for some time,” said Greg Delaney, “and this provides us with exactly what we wanted. It also gives partners here the opportunity to invest in a new entity that combines the strength, energy and diversity of DLKW with the well recognized creative achievements and global reach of Lowe. We are very excited about the many benefits this partnership can bring.”
Location: UK, USA, New York, NY & UK, London
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