W&L, a newly formed holding company based in Chicago, has acquired Lanyap Inc., a marketing services firm, and analytics company Fury Group. Terms of the acquisitions were not disclosed.
The companies will operate under the umbrella organization UMarketing LLC. Jim Miller and Steve Shaw, who co-founded Lanyap, will serve as president and executive vice president of UMarketing, respectively. Ken Lomasney, who founded Fury Group, was tapped for UMarketing’s COO position. Richard Koranda, who had been with Lanyap, will serve as UMarketing’s creative director.
The combined companies generated $10 million in revenue and $65 million in billings, according to W&L chairman and UMarketing CEO George Wiedeman.
While Wiedeman anticipates W&L taking until the end of the year to finish “digesting” his firm’s most recent purchases, management has already begun to think about the next wave of acquisitions. These could include a marketing services firm that broadens the company’s core client base beyond its current focus in the financial services market, and a small- to mid-sized general agency, possibly in the New York City agency.
Somewhat less likely is a purchase of a small digital agency, although “most digital offerings are [currently] overpriced,” Weideman said.
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