Direct Media Lives.
Executives of the list management/brokerage firm Direct Media Inc. plan to buy back the whole company from Acxiom. The new DMI, contrary to expectations, will include both the consumer and business-to-business divisions, sources said.
Managers from both DMI units agreed in a meeting here on Tuesday night that there should be one company instead of two. The decision was “pretty unanimous,” but details still have to be worked out.
Though nothing is in writing, there is a strong chance Acxiom will finance both the purchase price and receivables, the sources said.
There are both emotional and practical reasons for the units staying together in one company. On the practical side, it would be difficult and expensive to split the information technology department into two parts. In addition, the units would be better off with centralized accounting.
It has not yet been decided who will run the new DMI, or what the structure will be, but the likelihood is that it will be decentralized, the sources continued.
Also not clear is whether DMI will be able to retain the lease at its Greenwich, CT, office, which is in Acxiom’s name.
The sources described the buyout as a “friendly divorce,” and said that DMI and Acxiom will continue to work closely together. There were no signs with Acxiom’s name at DMI’s booth at the conference here.
Reports have been swirling for months about the probable split of Direct Media and Acxiom. The most recent report stated that the consumer unit would remain an autonomous part of Acxiom, and that the B-to-B division would split off. Acxiom acquired Direct Media in 1996.
Key company players in the discussions include founder Dave Florence; Max Bartko, who reportedly will head the consumer division; and Ralph Drybrough, leader of the B-to-B unit.
Several people have left the company in recent months, but sources said they were mid-level people who had not yet made substantial contributions. The top 30 to 40 revenue producers remain on board, they continued.
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