TBWA eyes stake in Malaysian agencies

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

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