Universal India merges with Lodestar

Universal McCann India has formally confirmed its merger with IPG sister agency Lodestar Media, creating a new player that it believes will rank as one of the country's top three media agencies in terms of size. <BR><BR> Shashi Sinha, who has been CEO of Lodestar for the past five years will head the new agency, called Lodestar Universal. He will form a management board at the new agency with equal representation of Lodestar and Universal McCann executives. <BR><BR> Lodestar Universal will have a staff of 155 people across six offices. All six offices will be involved in managing a strong list of India-based clients. <BR><BR> Universal McCann's major global clients working in India include MasterCard, Intel, L'Oreal, Johnson & Johnson and Microsoft.