brandRapport Ltd/QobliQ Ltd (United Kingdom) - Dec 2007

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01 December 2007

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Ingenious Media Active Capital Ltd (IMAC) has completed a £7.5m investment into QobliQ Ltd, a new company formed with the intention of creating a major international marketing group, taking a majority stake in the business, with the balance of the equity being held by management. The new capital has financed the acquisition of Passhold Ltd, the holding company of brandRapport Ltd, the leading independent marketing agency in the UK, with the remainder being used to fund initial working capital requirements. IMAC intends to grow the value of the business by operating a buy and build strategy, particularly focusing on companies based in the UK, France and Germany that specialise in ‘below the line’ marketing, a sub-sector of the market which utilises low-profile methods such as product placement as opposed to mainstream advertising, with several bolt-on acquisitions already in the pipeline.

Company

brandRapport offers both consulting and implementation services to a range of high profile clients such as Vodafone, E.ON, Lenovo, AXA and Nationwide. The company was originally established in 1982 as Craigie Taylor International Ltd, becoming GEM in 2002 following its acquisition by CSS Stellar Plc and later brandRapport following a management buyout in late 2005. brandRapport is headquartered in Guildford and has an office in Hong Kong, currently employing a total of around 30 staff.

People

Patrick Bradley, director of Ingenious Ventures, led the transaction for IMAC and will join the QobliQ board. The management team will be led by Xavier Quattrocchi-Oubradous and Roland Giscard d’Estaing, the co-founders of Paris-based sponsorship consultancy Sponsorclick France SARL.

Advisers

Company - Jones Day, Simon Kiff (Legal)Equity - KPMG, Neil Davies (Financial Due Diligence)Equity - McFarlanes, John Dodsworth (Legal)Equity - PricewaterhouseCoopers, Alastair Rimmer (Commercial Due Diligence)Management - Nellen Solicitors, Gideon Nellen (Legal)

Sourced from: UK & Ireland unquote" 361 (Jan 2008)