TBWA eyes stake in Malaysian agencies

<p>KUALA LUMPUR: Omnicom is on a buying spree to boost its presence in </p><p>Malaysia, with its agency TBWA poised to acquire a stake in ad agency </p><p>ISC and media shop Wizard Dynamics (WMD). </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>At the same time, the network is considering stakes in ISC's direct and </p><p>public relations affiliates Hype and TQPR respectively. Austen Zecha, </p><p>the chief executive of ISC, is a majority shareholder in the ad agency </p><p>and WMD, and has a stake in the direct marketing and PR agencies. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Over the last few years we've had four or five multinational agencies </p><p>looking to acquire ISC but we decided we would only sell out as a group, </p><p>which then limited our choice of suitors," said Zecha. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We felt TBWA is the right partner because it believes in the 360 degree </p><p>approach to marketing." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The ad agency will be renamed TBWA-ISC, while WMD will retain its name </p><p>and remain separate to Omnicom's media agency OMD. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>TBWA's direct marketing agency Tequila is undertaking due diligence on </p><p>Hype, which has a team of 11. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Keith Smith, TBWA president Asia-Pacific, said the network would be </p><p>acquiring a 40 per cent stake in ISC and WMD over a four-year period in </p><p>accordance with Malaysian laws which prevent majority foreign </p><p>ownership. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He declined to disclose the sale price but said it would depend upon </p><p>financial targets being met. "As with all acquisitions, the challenge </p><p>for ISC will be to keep its culture and character but become a </p><p>fully-fledged TBWA agency." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>ISC has been a TBWA affiliate for about two years and already works for </p><p>some of TBWA's international clients such as Seagram, Nivea and </p><p>Cadbury. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The agency bills about US$25 million a year and has 51 staff. </p><p>TBWA's next acquisition is likely to be in Taiwan, according to Smith. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>