Ipsos is to acquire Buenos Aires-headquartered research firm Livra Panels, which provides online panels and data collection services for market research agencies in the Spanish and Portuguese speaking markets. Terms were not disclosed.

Founded in 1999 by Martín Añazco and Diego Meller, Livra now runs a panel of 1 million Spanish and Portuguese speaking panellists in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and Venezuela. Its development plans include the US Hispanic market.

The firm, which currently has teams in Buenos Aires, London, Mexico City and Sao Paulo, will continue to operate independently, managed by its founders.

Efrain Ribeiro, COO at Ipsos Interactive Services, comments: ‘Livra’s proven Internet expertise and innovative panel applications will have an impact at Ipsos on a global scale by helping us to redefine the online respondent experience.’

CEO of Ipsos in Argentina Gonzalo Santamarina says that there is no equivalent business to Livra in Latin America, and adds that the acquisition will reinforce Ipsos’ capabilities in Latin America and improve its positioning in the growing online business.

In the past two years, Livra has increased its revenues threefold, added eight new Latin American panels to its portfolio, formed a partnership with TNS, opened an office in Brazil, and launched a new online platform which combines the features of social networking sites with online surveys and product reviews.

Añazco says the move is an ‘exciting opportunity’ for Livra, and believes Ipsos has understood the firm’s strategy and how its platform can be applied on a larger scale. According to Meller, Ipsos’ leadership in Latin America will enable Livra to offer a more comprehensive service to its clients.

Web sites: www.ipsos.com and www.livrapanels.com .

Ipsos recently launched a Spanish language omnibus service, the Ipsos Hispanic Express Omnibus, billed as the only Hispanic Omnibus survey to start every week.

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