STW Buys Majority of Australia's Colmar Brunton

Marcoms group STW has acquired a majority stake in Colmar Brunton Australia, the country's largest independently owned market research agency. The amount of the investment was not disclosed.

Founded in 1989, Colmar Brunton Australia offers a range of services including new product development research, sensory evaluation, advertising development and tracking, market segmentation, eye-tracking, and customer and employee satisfaction studies. In Australia, the company employs around 120 full time staff at offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Adelaide.

Colmar Brunton Australia-owned agencies Advantage International, The Research Agency, and Loyalty Live are not included in the STW deal, and will continue to operate independently with no change to their structure, staffing, clients or operations.

STW says the acquisition will expand its existing research capabilities - it already owns the Australian arm of UK-based behavioural insights firm Beyond Analysis, online research consultancy AMR, brand insight firm Added Value, panel management specialist ORU, and data collection agency Touchpoint.

CEO Michael Connaghan comments: 'Colmar Brunton has an incredible pedigree in the FMCG and government sectors in particular, and includes one of the country's largest field suppliers, 'Your Source'. The firm fits well within STW's future growth strategies, and its capabilities will form an integral part of our market research offering.'

John Shanahan, Colmar Brunton Chairman, added that his firm had reached a stage in its development where it required a 'significant partner' to take the next step, and that the partnership with STW will offer staff new opportunities for growth and clients expanded capabilities.

In the 1990s, Colmar Brunton Australia split from Colmar Brunton New Zealand, which later merged with WPP-owned Millward Brown.

Web sites: www.stwgroup.com.au and www.colmarbrunton.com.au .