Upstart Lighthouse Buys U.K. Shops
Wall Street deals for marketing services companies are taking on a newdimension. “Category killers,” most notably Snyder Communications, areemerging as aggressive acquirers, collectively scooping up dozens ofindustry superstars every year.
Chicago-based upstart Lighthouse Holdings, Inc., a newly formed marketingservices company backed by old-line investors, is now pushing the boundary- geographically speaking. In May, Lighthouse acquired London-basedCommunicator, an integrated marketing services company specializing indirect marketing, sales promotion, design, and events. The purchase cameless than two months after Lighthouse paid $52 million to acquireU.K.-based Fitch, Inc., the world’s largest design shop.Lighthouse isn’t the only industry player to push beyond North Americarecently. In April, Toronto-based Mosaic Group agreed to buy Streach theHorizon, Britain’s largest independent direct-marketing agency. A monthearlier, Interpublic purchased a minority position in Swedish-based IconMedialab, a European powerhouse for interactive advertising and marketingservices. And late in 1998, Snyder picked up France-based Publimed, therebysurpassing Quintiles as the world’s largest contract sales organization forthe pharmaceutical industry.
The common thread among all these deals? Fortune 500 companies looking forvendors with a broad array of services, and sub-Fortune 500 companiesscrambling to react to unfamiliar global pressures, making a marketingpartner with global capabilities a necessity, not a luxury. O
