Incepta Merger Agreed

The UK's Incepta, owner of a number of MR brands and companies including Hauck and DVL Smith Ltd, is to merge with PR group Huntsworth. The resulting group will have an estimated market capitalisation of c.£195.4m, around two thirds from Incepta and one third Huntsworth.

Incepta Marketing Intelligence (www.incepta-mi.com ) includes Marketing Intelligence and Information Services divisions. The former incorporates Hauck and DVL Smith, New Media House, communications specialist Cognition, retail agency The Pop Shop, Momentum Research Group and kids and youth agency Redballoon. The Information Services division includes Viewpoint and Shoreditch viewing studios and field agencies The Wire and Viewpoint Field.

One of the stated aims of the merger is to provide cross marketing opportunities for the group's brands and services to existing clients. In a statement on its site, Huntsworth also gives recent consolidation in the marketing and communications sector as a spur for the decision. The merged business is expected to be renamed.

The combined group will have European operations in the UK, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland, and Asian businesses in Beijing, Dubai, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Shanghai and Singapore. Both companies already have operations in several cities in the USA.

Following the completion of the Merger, Lord Chadlington will become Executive Chairman of the Group, Richard Nichols will become Chief Executive and Roger Selman will be Finance Director. The remainder of the board will consist of the Rt Hon Francis Maude and Jon Foulds as Joint Deputy Chairmen, with two Non-Executive Directors nominated by each company - Robert Alcock and Charles Good (Incepta); Anthony Brooke and Eugene Beard (Huntsworth). All other existing directors will resign.

Under the terms of the Merger Offer, Huntsworth Shareholders will retain their shares in Huntsworth and Incepta Shareholders will receive 313.654 New Huntsworth Shares for every 100 Incepta Shares. Based on the current issued share capital of the two companies, Huntsworth Shareholders will hold approximately 32.8%, and Incepta Shareholders approximately 67.2%, of the issued share capital of the Group.

The terms of the Merger reflect the recent relative market capitalisations of the two companies. At the close of business on Wednesday (2nd March), the market capitalisations of Huntsworth and Incepta were £65.9m and £129.5m respectively. Huntsworth is online at www.huntsworth.com

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

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