MDC Partners Picks Up RJ Palmer

RJ PALMER, a leading independent media agency, is being acquired by MDC Partners in a deal that underscores the growing importance to marketers of media services in a digital age.

RJ Palmer is based in New York and handles accounts with billings estimated at more than $800 million for brands like Ben & Jerry’s, sold by Unilever; Build-A-Bear Workshop; the footwear retailer DSW; Dulcolax, Flomax, Spiriva and Zantac, from Boehringer Ingelheim; Keurig, sold by Green Mountain Coffee; Lunesta, from Sunovion; Perdue Farms; Sherwin-Williams; and Sports Illustrated, published by the Time Inc. division of Time Warner.

The services provided to clients by RJ Palmer include media planning and buying as well as branded entertainment, which is focused on helping to incorporate brands into programming like television shows.

The deal, which is to be formally announced on Thursday, will cost MDC an estimated $25 million, including additional considerations based on future performance. RJ Palmer will operate as a stand-alone division of MDC; all of its senior managers and 70 employees are to continue with the agency.

RJ Palmer has offices in Atlanta and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in addition to its headquarters in New York. The senior managers at RJ Palmer who will remain after the sale include, in addition to Mr. Knobloch, Jim Vail, president; Pete Regan, chief operating officer; Peter Stieglitz, chief financial officer; and Vince Laraia, president of Trade X Media.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/05/business/media/mdc-partners-picks-up-rj-palmer.html