Hundreds of staff at Clemenger, who had shares in the Australian advertising group, today shared $34 million net after paying down loans they took out to buy into the scheme.
The company is now 100% owned by Omnicom, ahead of its takeover of competitor IPG.
Robert Morgan, the now former chair of the Clemenger Group, said the scheme was incredibly generous of Peter Clemenger.
“We had some brilliant people through and they had the benefit of that share scheme,” he told AdNews.
“It was one of the great things that set us apart. We were able to attract and keep some of the best people in the industry.”
Following a vote today of shareholders, Omnicom scooped up the shares it didn’t own, going to 100% from 86.84%.
The deal was to pay $3.37 a share on top of a special dividend of six cents a share, fully franked, meaning that this became a tax credit.
A committee, comprising Morgan, CFO Adrian Ciabotti and Colenso BBDO CEO Angela Watson, negotiated the deal with Omnicom.
Morgan, who was hired 46 years ago by Peter Clemenger as an account executive, retired in June this year.
The then John Clemenger agency opened its doors in Melbourne in 1946. John’s 18-year-old son Peter was there at the beginning.
A third of the business was sold to Omnicom’s BBDO in 1972, and one third of went to staff. The Clemengers had the rest.
Omnicom took a majority holding in 2010, meaning the company then was no longer Australian owned.
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