Synovate Buys Into German 'Top Tier'

Synovate parent Aegis has announced the acquisition of Roland Berger Market Research, the custom MR subsidiary of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, based in Munich, Germany.

The buy, which was announced on 23rd December, 'firmly establishes Synovate in the top tier of German market research suppliers' according to its Global CEO Adrian Chedore.

Roland Berger also has offices in Hamburg, and employs 35 people. Its specialisms include business-to-business, financial, utilities, telecoms, children/youth, and traffic & transportation research. It will be integrated with Synovate's existing operations in Germany under the leadership of Harald Hasselmann, currently Roland Berger MR's Managing Director. Martin Wegner, currently MD of Synovate Germany, will retire from his country management role, but take up a new consultancy role for Synovate in Western Europe after a short handover period.

Chedore says the acquired company has a reputation for excellence that extends well beyond Germany. 'There is a strong fit between Synovate's existing full service operations in Wiesbaden, where we have exceptional capabilities in FMCG research, and the strengths of Roland Berger Market Research, which extend across a range of other sectors'.

He adds: 'Germany is also a very important market for many of Synovate's international clients and this move ensures that Synovate can offer them significantly enhanced capabilities for conducting market research in Germany'.

Burkhard Schwenker, CEO of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, says the acquisition makes good sense for both companies. 'This step will ensure that we're following our strategy of focusing on our core business. Roland Berger Market Research's clients will profit from Synovate's extensive global coverage and specialist expertise'.

Synovate is online at www.synovate.com ..

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.