Confirming rumours that first surfaced last month, Vision7 International announced this weekend that its North American assets – including Cossette and international PR firm Citizen Relations – have been sold to Beijing-based BlueFocus Communications Group.
In a release, Vision7 said the sale will enable the organizations to accelerate their “ambitious” growth plans, both in North America and globally.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but previous reports had pegged the value of the sale at US$220 million, considerably more than the $115 million paid by equity firm Mill Road in 2009.
It concludes a process that got underway in May, when Connecticut-based Mill Road Capital, announced it was seeking “strategic options” for its North American assets.
U.K. assets including Dare, Elvis and Identica were not included in the transaction, and will no longer be operated as a group said Vision7. Instead, they will shift to a new operational focus as individual brands, the company said.
In a release, the company said Vision7’s senior executives would “significantly” increase its ownership stake in the company.
“BlueFocus has demonstrated a strong commitment towards the existing management team and the direction we are taking the company,” said Vision7 and Cossette CEO Brett Marchand, in a release.
He said BlueFocus emerged as the “best partner” that aligned with the company’s growth plans for Cossette in North America and Citizen internationally, while simultaneously enabling it to expand in digital, CRM and “key” technology sectors including mobile.
All of the top executives at Vision7, Cossette and Citizen Relations will remain in their respective roles, including Marchand; Vision7 and Cossette Quebec president Melanie Dunn; Cossette English Canada president Dave Lafond; Cossette Quebec City VP and director general Louis Duchesne; EDC North America president Colin Schleining; and Citizen Relations’ LA-based CEO Daryl McCullough.
The company also announced two of Cossette’s founding partners, Claude Lessard and Pierre Delagrave, will assume non-executive roles within the organization, providing “ongoing counsel” to the executive team.
Based in Beijing, BlueFocus was established in 1996 and has emerged as China’s leading communications and marketing company. It employs more than 3,500 people globally, providing a wide spectrum of PR and brand management services to clients including Lenovo, China Merchants Bank, Cisco, L’Oreal, Estee Lauder and Pepsi.
“To be global” is one of its core strategies, borne out by deals over the past two years that saw it acquire controlling stakes in U.K. social media agency We Are Social, as well as a 20% stake in U.K. PR firm Huntsworth.
It also purchased a controlling stake in U.S. design firm Fuseproject earlier this year. As of September, the company had revenues of US$900 million and a market capitalization of US$3.9 billion.
