Briefs

ClickZ News -- By Kevin Newcomb -- December 22, 2004

UK-based Aegis Group announced today that it has acquired privately held search engine marketing firm iProspect for $50 million.

The deal will give Aegis 100 percent of the SEM firm's equity, which was previously held by its founders. Aegis will pay $32 million in cash and $18 million in deferred cash over two years, subject to iProspect's performance.

iProspect will continue on as a standalone brand, keeping all 85 employees, including founder and CEO Fredrick Marckini and president Robert Murray. The company also plans to aggressively hire to meet its expanded needs, Marckini said.

Watertown, Mass.-based iProspect will become part of Isobar, Aegis' umbrella brand created in July 2004 to house its worldwide digital and one-to-one assets, which include Boston's Carat Interactive, Korea's Agency W, Australia's One Digital, and China's WWWINS.

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