Tempus acquires Added Value

An accelerated expansion and recruitment programme is to start at branding and design consultancy Brown Inc, after the acquisition of its parent company.

Global media concern Tempus Group last week agreed a cash and shares deal, worth £35m, to buy the Added Value Group.

The deal will enable a larger global presence for all the companies involved. Brown Inc chairman and founder Dave Brown says: “Although Tempus valued the business at £35m, 75 per cent of the deal was an exchange of stock, so we are putting a lot back into the business.”

“Before the deal we always had plans to grow the business, and this will help our plans. We will be looking to recruit at a faster rate than before,” says Brown. He sees corporate identity as the biggest growth sector for the group.

Together with Brown Inc’s identity, design and packaging role, and market research and internal marketing arms, AVG positions itself as a brand strategy and development specialist. Clients include Egg, Shell, Unilever, Levi Strauss & Co and Coca Cola. The group employs more than 250 people in Europe, Australia and Hong Kong. Principal shareholders and founders Peter Dart and Mark Sherrington have each been appointed executive directors of Tempus.

The chairman of Tempus, Chris Ingram, claims that the move is going to create a “clear alternative to the traditional model of an ad agency”.