SYDNEY: STW has taken full ownership of market research company AMR Interactive, previously owned by Pacific Equity Partners and AMR founding partner Brian Fine.
The acquisition will sit alongside STW’s other research firms including Added Value, Solutions Marketing & Research and swat>marketing, and its 50% share in ANOP Research Services.
PEP has dissolved its investment completely, but Fine and AMR managing director Garry Wilkinson, who owned a 5% share, have entered into employment contracts and an earn-out arrangement with STW.
AMR is understood to have been on the lookout for a buyer for some time. Neither PEP nor STW disclosed the sale price, but a market research insider said the agency was worth more than $10 million.
Fine said AMR has posted growth increases of 25% year-on-year for "a number of years", and under STW ownership there is room for more growth.
"There was a number of options we had, but an Australian-owned marketing services group gives us more room to expand and more autonomy," he said.
STW executive chairman Russell Tate said AMR would work across all STW companies testing ideas and consumer insights, especially in the online areas.
“AMR adds an important new dimension to the group and we will give Brian Fine and his team all the investment support they need to ensure that the business continues to lead the market in the quality and breadth of its online panels,” Tate said.
AMR claims it was the first research firm in Australia to introduce an online research panel in 2000. That panel now includes more than 300,000 consumers and 30,000 business contacts.
AMR also offers a full range of research services and has a blue chip client base across e-commerce, telecommunications, retail and automotive.
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