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Cello Buys Remainder of Face
Global insight and marketing group Cello has acquired the remaining shares of co-creation agency Face, four years after first investing in it.
 London-based Face has dedicated teams of planners, researchers, and social media specialists who work on new product development, concept generation, brand insight, and positioning projects. It also offers social media strategy and planning to help brands listen, understand and engage.
Cello bought its initial share in the firm in 2008, with options to acquire the remaining equity through a staged earn-out during the following three to five years. A year later, the group upped its stake to 50.7%, and it has now completed the final buy-out, and appointed Face co-founder and CEO Andrew Needham as one of Cello's 13 Managing Partners.
In his new role, Needham will be responsible for expanding Face's capabilities globally. It has already established a New York office, which Cello says is 'operating successfully'. He will also manage capital investment in some of Face's existing platforms - these include Pulsar, for social media and mobile research, and MyFace for communities research, which will be expanded to deliver research and big data solutions that combine communities, social media and mobile research across the Cello group.
Mark Scott, CEO of Cello, comments: 'Our social intelligence capability is developing fast, and becoming a core element of our overall expansion strategy as a group. Andrew is uniquely positioned to lead our strategy in this core area, which will help shape our overall future.'
Web sites: www.cellogroup.co.uk and www.facegroup.co.uk .
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