Cheil acquires McKinney

Cheil Worldwide said Tuesday it would buy North Carolina’s McKinney as part of an ongoing bid to expand its presence in the United States.

McKinney will keep its name, and its leadership team will remain in North Carolina, says Cheil Americas chief executive Buz Sawyer. He said the U.S. agency will continue to have its own business and its own clients.

“It’s really important that all these agencies, whether they have a Cheil name or a non-Cheil name, have a real sense of independence and that they’re steering their own ship,” Sawyer says, referring to the agency’s global network.

In June, Ad Age reported that Cheil was in talks to buy the U.S. agency, noting that it has been just four years since McKinney bought itself back from French holding company Havas.

McKinney joins the regional network of agency partners called Cheil Americas, which is headed up by Sawyer. McKinney will join Cheil USA, Cheil Canada, Cheil Mexico, Cheil Central America and Cheil Brazil.


Read more: http://strategyonline.ca/2012/07/31/cheil-acquires-mckinney/#ixzz22EchNUyb

 The deal is estimated at $50 million
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/31/business/media/cheil-worldwide-completes-deal-to-buy-mckinney.html


McKinney brought in $37.4 million in revenue in 2011, down 6.5% from the year prior, according to Ad Age DataCenter.

Havas purchased McKinney -- which has been in business for about 45 years -- in spring 2001 from web consultancy MarchFirst for an estimated $30 million to $35 million. The terms of the buyback in June 2008 were not disclosed, but CEO Brad Brinegar said at the time it was a lengthy negotiation with Havas and he and other senior leaders at the company were eager to gain their independence due to the changing nature of client relationships. He also stated at the time that a move outside the confines of a marketing-services conglomerate would give McKinney a competitive edge, citing Procter & Gamble and other companies that have sought agencies outside of holding companies and hired independents.

http://adage.com/article/agency-news/korean-holding-company-cheil-talks-acquire-mckinney/235704/