Syzygy in deal with US group

New media consultancy Syzygy is in discussion with a New York group to link up and acquire a string of European offices.

Syzygy chief executive John Hunt expects to have a letter of intent from the unnamed US group in the next week.

Syzygy beat AKQA and Online Magic to become best Web design consultancy at the Yell UK Web Awards last week. There are plans, through the US deal, to buy up multimedia groups in the key markets of Germany, Scandinavia, Spain and Italy.

The unnamed New York group has four offices in North America. Hunt expects the group to have ten offices by the end of the year. The tie-up could mean the loss of the name Syzygy in favour of its new owner.

WPP Group, which owns a minority share in Syzygy, would be a shareholder in the new group.

“There is an opportunity to have a quoted group on the high end of the market,” says Hunt.

He refutes industry rumours that the consultancy is in financial trouble. “We are delightfully financially stable,” he says.

Siegel & Gale is believed to be keen to buy a top ten London multimedia consultancy to aid its rapid expansion plans. The group, which bought itself out of Saatchi & Saatchi last month, is also looking to buy in Germany. S&G Internet director John Wilmott declines to comment.

See News Analysis, page 7