LNC sets its sights on a piece of Design in Action

Lloyd Northover Citigate parent company Incepta Group is making a £47.9m bid to acquire Lopex, which owns London consultancy Design in Action.

Although the Lopex board is advising its shareholders to take no action for the “unsolicited bid”, national newspapers have reported that Lopex has subsequently been contacted by other media conglomerates, including WPP Group.

“DIA sits very neatly between LNC and Team LGM [its direct marketing agency]. It also has offices in Singapore like LNC, which is working on a project out there at the moment,” says Incepta director John Rudofsky.

DIA managing director Barry Salter declines to comment and Lopex chief executive Peter Thomas was not available for comment as Design Week went to press.

However, a statement issued on 2 July by the Lopex board of directors says: “Shareholders are strongly advised to take no action in respect of their shareholdings.” A further announcement is promised in due course.

Incepta already holds a 26.95 per cent share in Lopex, but the LNC parent says that there will be no job losses as a result of any acquisition.

The two groups are likely to meet this week to discuss the proposed deal.