Y&R to acquire The Partners

US advertising group Young & Rubicam is set to acquire UK design consultancy The Partners, in a deal thought to be worth as much as £15m.

The Partners was ranked 26th in Design Week’s Top 100 survey earlier this year, achieving a fee income last year of £5.1m. The Y&R acquisition deal has been secretly brokered over a 12-month period, and has now been fully agreed.

The group will join Y&R’s Diversified Communications Group, which also includes worldwide design group Landor Associates. Y&R chief operating officer Mike Dolan says: “We are delighted to be bringing The Partners into the Y&R group.

“It has got an impressive track record and an unrivalled reputation for its work, building strong brands that survive in the marketplace.

“This move is in keeping with our long-standing strategy of bringing leading companies into our group in order to consistently deliver best-in-class integrated communications to our clients,” he adds.

The acquisition of The Partners was set in motion before Y&R itself became the subject of a takeover bid by its rival, WPP Group.